A Strange Fate
by Tessadragon
Summary: Full story of Kierlan the witch, Blade the vampire, and the human girl they both love: Sarah Strange.
1. Arrival of a Stranger

Chapter 1

The noisy Cicadas that lived in the long fields of grasses around her home, filled the serenity outside Sarah's bedroom. She didn't sleep, just basked in that beautiful peace as though something within her knew that it was doomed to end in a few minutes, as though determined to grip onto that quietness as long as possible.

She knew how lucky she was. She knew far more about the world than many innocent humans: she knew of the vampires, the witches, the shapeshifters and werewolves. And, best of all, she knew about the Soulmate principle. It gave colour to her life and sent warm shivers of gladness through her. With these thoughts, a smile drifted onto her sweet face as she buried it into the pillow, letting the summer heat wash over her tanned skin.

The noisy cicadas were drowned out by the sound of a good car. She smiled wryly, used to the activity here. Circle Daybreak, of whom she and Blade were members, met here any time they could, often accepting the hospitality of Sarah's best friend's mother and staying for a night or two.

From the pure softness of the car engine, she judged it to be one of the higher members of Circle Daybreak. Perhaps Thierry, or Aradia: the prophetess of the witches, they occasionally visited. She doubted it to be any of the Wild Powers: they weren't ever really moved out of the safe houses they were kept in, for risk of Hunter Redfern finding out by chance. At the thought of Hunter, Sarah shivered. He was a cruel vampire that she feared; worse than that, she feared if Blade should meet him, for Blade was as opposite to Hunter as day was to night.

Then, through the soft summer night air travelled the rhythmic sound of five knocks. The last knock came exactly five seconds after the fourth knock. At that, it would have been impossible to sleep on. That sequence of knocks was important. The door was opened immediately of course. Curiosity tugged at her, and her mischievous nature pleaded for her to check it as well. And then, if that wasn't enough, the sensible part of her joined in as well, making it unanimous. She should know what was going on: Rita Lewis, Susie's mother, wouldn't mind: she encouraged active interest, since it guaranteed she wouldn't have to do too much of the work.

Finally, she slipped out of bed, grabbing her summer dressing gown: wrapping its thin cloth loosely over her baggy pyjama pants and sleeveless tank top. Then she left the room hurriedly. That sequence of knocks would mean anything would happen quickly.

"Sarah," Susie whispered, meeting her in the hallway as she left her own room. The two friends smiled sheepishly at each other. Susie was beautiful, and a witch. She was Sarah's best friend, and her mother was Rita Lewis, a witch who moved within Circle Daybreak's higher circles, offering assistance wherever possible.

They moved surreptitiously to the top of the stairs, to watch the front door, where Susie's mother was nodding, talking to the man, who stood with his hand placed firmly on a sullen looking boy's shoulder. The boy looked like he was seriously considering bolting, as though he hated this place.

Then he looked up, up the stairs, seeming not to notice Susie, and his eyes met Sarah's. She drew back slightly, startled. And a small, almost sly smile crept onto the boy's lips, giving him a foxish beauty though he had gypsy-dark eyes, a blunt nose and a strong, slim and stubborn chin. His clothes were city clothes: baggy blue jeans and a tight black t-shirt emblazoned with 'No Fear' in red.

"Mother," Susie called down clearly, disrupting the moment. "Who's he? What's going on?"

"Susie," Rita raised an eyebrow, turning to look up. "Sarah. What are you two girls doing, still up at this hour?"

She saw the boy's eyes become thoughtful, though still as sly as a fox, even saw his lips form her name, Sarah. Then he blinked, and his eyes were cool, icy and sly again.

"We're awake," Susie said impatiently. "Isn't that all that matters? You haven't answered my question!"

It could have been taken as rudeness to her mother, but instead, it made her mother laugh ruefully. "You're too much like your father. Bite your tongue, Susie."

"No, because that would hurt and I wouldn't be able to tell people what I think!" Susie said smartly. Sarah hid a smile, used to the banter between Susie and Rita Lewis.

As Rita offered to quieten Susie's tongue with a spell, Sarah took the opportunity again, to look at the boy. But this time, he met her gaze, throwing back a challenging, shrewd gaze in a way that caused dismay to rise in her. "Who are you?" she asked aloud, startled and annoyed at how breathless she suddenly sounded.

"Kierlan Harman," the boy answered with a crooked grin.

Susie's eyes widened. "Harman! We're cousins!" A small grin crept across her sweet features. "Very distant cousins, I hope."

Yes, good, Sarah thought, almost viciously. Let Susie flirt with him all she wants. I shan't let Blade get jealous of…Kierlan. At that, a pleasant feeling rose in her, a tame feeling compared to the brighter emotion that Kierlan's eyes gave her. For a moment, they shone pure violet, like the wild flowers in the woods beyond the fields. Then they darkened to violet-black again, serious and…angry.

Why should he be angry to be here? Sarah thought hotly, defensive of her home, of Rita and Susie, who made this home beautiful and wonderful to her.

"Oh dear," Rita muttered, seeing the coy look rising to her daughter's face. "Now she'll be unspeakable for the next few days—Sarah!" she raised her voice and Sarah flinched, startled. "Yes, Rita?"

"Would you settle our new…guest—" her lips thinned, aware of the scowl lightening on Kierlan's face "—in the guest room?"

Sarah could have refused. She could have said she was tired, but she didn't, because she knew Rita was tired too, had been up all day and the night before. "Yes, of course, Rita," she said, faking a smile.

Good, Rita thought approvingly. Sarah's levelheaded enough to deal with Kierlan's flirting. And he's in a bad mood, being brought here. He's going to be flirting for a while, I should think. And Blade won't take that.

She generally had, through all her involvement with creatures in the Nightworld, a slight mistrust of Sarah's lover. He seemed gentle, but…to Rita, he'd always be a vampire. And vampires are dangerous.

"Sarah," Kierlan said, a hint of mocking in his voice as he followed her into the guest room. "What was with the girl standing next to you? She looked like she needed glasses when she was squinting at me."

"Hmmph." She didn't think anything at all of his manners. If Susie had said anything like that, in her mother's hearing, she'd have been sent to her room immediately and have had all her beloved spell-books confiscated.

He was silent for a moment, annoyed that she didn't rise to the challenge, instead standing back as she sorted out a pillow and duvet for the guestroom bed. His eyes were moody and sullen now, like drooping violets on a frosty morning. "And how come she doesn't have violet eyes?" he asked finally. "I thought all Harmans have violet eyes."

To that, Sarah finally bit her tongue, tossing the pillow onto the bed, the sheets only half tucked in. Her voice was snappish, disgusted with Kierlan. "Her mother isn't Harman. Her father was. Her father is dead. Her mother is a different witch family."

Kierlan blinked, as though startled.

Sarah ploughed on, furious. "And why would you notice her green eyes anyway? You look like you'd rather be blind than here!"

"Maybe I would!" Kierlan snapped back, his eyes brightening with anger. "I was okay back home! Not grabbed off the streets almost every day by whoever wanted a chat with me! And I was allowed to walk down the street!"

Sarah snorted. "And let me guess, toss down your litter while you're at it? Break a few windows?" She stood up straight, her arms folded over her chest. "I like it here, Kierlan. I'm sorry if you don't, but you're acting like a child! A sullen, spoilt child!" She ranted on, her voice rising.

"For a human, you're loud," Kierlan said quietly, suddenly.

Her voice fell silent. He didn't look at her now. He just went to the bed, almost carefully placing the pillow at the end of the bed, finished tucking in the sheets and picking the folded duvet off the floor where Sarah had placed it.


	2. Vampiric Love

Chapter 2

"He's awful!" Sarah said passionately. "He's rude, obnoxious and acts like he's doing us the favour by being here!"

"His highness Prince Kierlan!" Susie giggled and Sarah collapsed in laughter, rolling over in her duvet. They were acting like two girls at a sleepover, even though they had lived in Susie's house for three good years.

There was a rap on the floor as Rita tapped the ceiling of the room below warningly with an extra long piece of firewood. "I chopped that log!" Susie yelled back and Sarah looked at her friend, bemused and only very slightly jealous. What must it be like, she thought, fascinated, to just know things, even though none of your own five senses are telling you it?

Susie shrugged slightly, then winced. "Sorry."

Sarah hid a smile. "Keep out of my head, Suze."

Susie shrugged again. "You're loud, Sarah. Part of what's good about you."

"What else would be good?" Sarah wondered aloud. "To hit Kierlan over the head!"

Susie burst out laughing. "What's got you hating him so much?"

Immediately, Sarah shoved thoughts of Kierlan out of her head, suddenly realising that she absolutely didn't want Susie to know what Kierlan had been saying about her. Susie's feelings were just as human as her own. "Oh, never mind," she said lightly, pummelling her pillow gently. "Let's just get some sleep."

Susie happily obeyed. Her voice was muffled, half by a yawn, and half by her own pillow, as she spoke again. "Blade'll be off guard duty soon. No worries."

"Not worried," Sarah said lightly, surprised at herself. She hadn't even thought of Blade in the last few minutes. For that, she felt slightly guilty. Oh, come on, she told herself sternly. It's not like he expects you to think of him twenty four seven! She smiled ruefully, her eyelids slowly falling shut, releasing her to good dreams, as Susie sleepily murmured her night's prayers, gazing dazedly at the window, at the ripe white moon that graced the sky.

A dark shape loomed up in front of the beautiful full moon. "How is she?" he asked quietly, climbing in the window.

Susie swallowed her yawn. "She doesn't like our new houseguest," she said, in wry amusement.

"New houseguest?" Blade asked enquiringly, his sharp eyes interested. "I was in the woods, so I didn't see. But I heard the car. What's this new guest like?"

"Drives Sarah insane," Susie smiled slightly, knowing Blade had been on guard duty all day. "Sit down, handsome."

Blade was used to Susie's good-natured flirting, and he obeyed, sitting down at the edge of the bed Sarah had hastily made for herself. "Why's Sarah sleeping in here, and not her own room?" he queried.

Susie shrugged. "Bad dreams, maybe. I don't know."

He sighed, his amber eyes troubled. "You haven't answered my question. Who's the new houseguest? Why is she upsetting Sarah?"

"She?" Susie asked slyly. "I never said she. It's a he. Kierlan Harman."

Blade frowned slightly. "Oh. Bother."

"Oh, don't worry," Susie said impatiently, flapping her hand dismissively. "He's too arrogant for Sarah's taste. An absolute big-head, according to her."

A slight smile formed on Blade's face. "That's okay, then."

Then, for a moment, he was silent, musing. "A Harman," he said eventually. "So do the rest of your family think he might be in danger?"

That was one of the things she liked about him. He took care to point out that she was descended from the Harmans, knowing she liked a bit of the prestige due to any descendant of the Harmans. Otherwise, she'd never have said what she said next.

"His mind's very wary," she admitted finally, swallowing a slight shiver. In fact, when she'd first caught a glimpse of Kierlan Harman, she'd felt briefly as though she was wrapped in hot wire: he was so tense and on edge! "He certainly feels like he expects to be hit around the back of the head any second. And…he's not afraid of it. More like, his fear's turned into anger. And I don't know how he'll express that anger. He makes me nervous, Blade." She met his eyes. "And I want to know why he's been sent here. Sarah's here, after all. She's only human. I mean, I can defend myself, but she…"

"I'll keep an eye on her," Blade promised with a gentle smile, his eyes worried, glinting amber in the darkness.

"Thank you," Susie whispered, relieved, as he left by the door this time, making his way silently down the hall, down the stairs. He'd seen the car was still parked outside the house, so that meant there must be another guest this night.

"And you couldn't have sent him somewhere else?" Rita said, losing her temper, flicking aside an untidy copper ringlet of her hair through which silver threads ran, a sign of her dedicated hard work for Circle Daybreak and her family.

"There was someone trying to track us," the dead gentleman explained coldly. "This was the nearest safe house with the right protections to baffle them. So sue me, I was irrational."

To Blade, the dead man sounded like he'd never been irrational in his whole life, not even when he must have once woken up to find himself inside a coffin.

"But we have a human here!" Rita said, distressed. "Kierlan's barely in control of his power—"

"And how do you propose we train a Wild Power?" the vampire asked sardonically.

"Send him to the other Wild Powers!" Rita snapped. "I've taken care of Sarah and Susannah for too long for some moody, teenage, wild witch to come along and ruin it!"

"Then why do you keep her here?" the vampire asked smoothly. "Surely she has her own family that she could be sent to? Isn't the oath you swore to Daybreak more important than running a…guesthouse?"

"I know the importance of my oath!" Rita hissed, her misty grey eyes murky as storm clouds. "But Sarah's mother asked me to look after her when Sarah's father died! Sarah needed months of healing, to come to terms with her father's death! And now Sarah knows too much to go back to that...that hell hole! She doesn't deserve to go back to that filthy, squalid little rat warren!"

"Sounds like she'd come from a rough neighbourhood," the vampire said lightly and Blade gritted his teeth, biting his tongue and willing himself to stay silent. "Where, may I ask?"

"One of the slums of Chicago," Rita said witheringly. "I'm just glad I was only there for a week!"

"Well, that's perfect," the vampire said coolly. "I don't see any problem with having Kierlan and this…Sarah…here at the same time."

"Are you insane!" Rita yelled, then clapped her hand over her mouth, muffling plenty of her own curses. Fighting to calm her breathing, she dared to uncover her mouth, to speak again. "Goddess! Your logic is screwed up, ever since you crawled out of your coffin!" she told him witheringly.

He didn't bother to look insulted. "I'm merely not worried. It seems, by some twist of fate, your new charge, and your young human charge come from the same place. Maybe that means something? From a Chicago slum, to here. Coincidence or not?"

"It had better be coincidence," Rita hissed.

He smiled thinly. "It's more your line of work to determine if it's coincidence or not. Who knows? Perhaps she could sweeten Kierlan's temper, and make him want to help Circle Daybreak."

"You are a soulless monster," Rita said softly. "It is no wonder you have never found a Soulmate, Damoran."

He shrugged and made his way to the door. "I'll stay on hand, in case anything should happen, don't you worry."

"In case Kierlan should accidentally kill Sarah?" Rita snapped.

Damoran smiled icily. "Nothing he's done so far is accidental, Mrs Lewis."


	3. A Painful Secret

Chapter 3

"A Wild Power!" Susie whispered, horrified, as Blade sat on the edge of the windowsill. He nodded, eyes grim. "Your mother isn't happy about it, at all."

"And why should she?" Susie said fervently, nervous.

"The Wild Powers are good," Blade reminded her.

"So far," Susie said darkly. "We don't know anything about Kierlan, though. Blade, we don't know anything about who brought him up, why he was brought here…anything!"

Blade hesitated. "We know where he came from. Chicago." He met her eyes. "And he is related to you. Distantly, but still…"

"And I could find out about him," Susie finished, nibbling her lip.

"Just chat to a few cousins," Blade suggested evasively.

"But mother would kill me if she knew," Susie whispered, eyes troubled. "And what if I accidentally let slip a clue that Kierlan's here? There must be a reason for him being here, after all, and not where the other Wild Powers are."

Sarah stirred slightly, then opened her eyes, blinking first at Susie, then at Blade. A small, sweet smile curved her lips. "Where've you been?"

He smiled back at her, his smile just as guileless, as she leaned forwards and kissed him softly on the lips.

"One day, I've gotta try and get a boyfriend," Susie sighed, jealousy in her gaze.

"He's more than a boyfriend," Sarah said immediately, and Blade laughed softly, kissed her again, drawing her into his lap where she lay her head on his shoulder, listening as he spoke to her mind. Glad to know you haven't forgotten me, he teased, now that this Kierlan is around.

She laughed back at him. "He's snobby," she assured him. "I'd go insane if I had to stay in the same room as him for too long!"

"I bet there's something nice enough about him," Blade said wryly.

"Hmm," Sarah said distractedly, unconvinced as he kissed her again, passionately. I don't think there is any niceness in Kierlan Harman, she thought.

"Just give him a chance," Blade suggested softly. "Like you gave me a chance."

"But you're a good guy," Sarah protested. "You're sweet, and kind, and funny, and nice…Kierlan's sour as a lemon, ungrateful and acts like he's cool as ice!"

"Guys act like that when they're insecure," Blade said tentatively.

Sarah smiled at him. "You weren't like that when we first met. You just shook my hand, smiled at me and introduced yourself like I was important."

"You are important," Blade said insistently.

"Not compared to you vampires, witches, Wild Powers, shapeshifters and everything else," she was only half-joking.

"I'm no wicked powerful witch," Susie said harshly. "And you're way better at math than me. And geography."

"But you can practically see through walls," Sarah said quietly. "You see important things where I'd see plain, ordinary things, if I'd even see them at all."

"Oh stop it!" Susie snapped, distressed. Taking hold of Sarah's palm, she sketched a symbol on it with her fingertips before Sarah could tug free. Sarah closed her eyes, mildly annoyed, unable to catch, let alone fight, the symbol's swift action, draining her negativity away.

"Don't do that, Susie," Blade said, frowning. "Your mother would call that an abuse of magic."

"It's helping her feel good about herself," Susie objected.

"It's messing with my emotions," Sarah said quietly. "Please…don't, Susie."

"Fine," Susie said grumpily. "I'll leave you to deal with your own emotions. I won't help you out. Good night."

With that, she buried her face in her pillow as Sarah's face fell. "Suze…that's not what I mean. I just want to deal with things like a human should…"

"And not magic," Susie muttered. "But everything is magic."

_You say that almost every day,_ Sarah almost said, but bit her tongue just in time.

"I'd best go on guard," Blade teasingly pushed Sarah off his lap and she pouted at him.

But her words weren't so teasing. "Be careful," she said softly, feeling more fearful now that she knew there was a Wild Power so near, like danger was lying so much closer, just waiting.

"Always," Blade assured her, kissed her on the forehead then went to the window, climbing out, back into the night and disappearing.

"I'm sorry, Susie," Sarah told the witch earnestly. "I don't know. My nerves are on edge, ever since having to talk to Kierlan."

"Kierlan won't get to me like that," Susie declared stubbornly. "He can be as spoilt as he likes, and I swear I'll still be smiling."

"I bet you five dollars you won't be," Sarah said confidently.

"I take you on that bet and raise you ten dollars," Susie said swiftly, cunning in her light eyes, lying back.

Sarah laughed softly. Susie didn't say anything else.

"Susie?" she whispered, but her friend didn't respond. She kept herself quiet, until she could focus on the deep, even sound of Susie's breathing: she was already fast asleep.

Lying back, she tried to empty her head of thoughts. But it was difficult: first, knowing Kierlan, the unpredictable witch was only a room away; second, knowing that he was a Wild Power and that meant she should respect him…but he's a jerk! Her mind yelled. And thirdly, that Blade wanted her to be nice to Kierlan. Oh, that's Blade, she thought wistfully. Gentler than an Old Soul.

It didn't bother her that Kierlan came from the same sort of home as her. She remembered her old home, and it was light, kind memories. Her mother had been joyful, alight with enthusiasm and adored Sarah's father. But Sarah's father had mostly been out of the house from early in the morning to late at night, so she didn't see him enough to feel his loss so deeply.

But her mother had. She'd withdrawn, become so much sadder. Only a week after, she'd contacted an old friend and asked her to take over looking after Sarah, at least until she'd recovered. It had been selfless of her, Rita Lewis had told Sarah. Sarah's mother hadn't wanted Sarah to see her in so dark a mood for fear of spoiling her childhood.

So Rita had brought Sarah back here, nine-year old Susie had taken one look at her, then gravely asked her mother in a loud whisper if Sarah was a witch.

"No, she's human," Rita had replied, smiling gently. "So be good, Susie."

And then Susie had caught a cold, spent a weekend sneezing. Sarah had sat at the end of her bed, awestruck, for each sneeze ended in a fountain of fireworks that reached the ceiling. And then Rita and Susie hadn't bothered to hide from Sarah that they were witches, even taking care to teach her about the Nightworld. Then Blade had arrived, shortly after the house had been declared a safe house by Circle Daybreak. And his amber eyes had innocently gazed upon Sarah. She spoken absent-mindedly. "You have lovely eyes."

And he'd smiled, and it had been like a glorious sunrise.

She was woken from her night-dreaming, not exactly a full sleep, by a sound from the guest room, like something…falling.

Swiftly, she eased free from her blankets. "Susie?" she whispered, but it was a frequent joke that not even earthquakes could wake Susie.

I'll just check on him, she thought, her heart thudding in her chest as she padded barefoot into the hallway, dressed in her simple nightgown.

The guest room door creaked slightly, and a slant of the light filling the hallway stealthily slid over the guest room floor, highlighting the rumpled, completely undignified heap of Kierlan, mumbling fretfully in his sleep, twisted helplessly inside his blankets, on the floor.

She muffled a giggle, relieved. He's just dreaming.

Then his violet eyes snapped open and she froze, as his instinct came into action. A crackling violet ball of magic came at her, hitting her in the side.

With a yip, she slid to the floor, terrified.

And Kierlan was terrified, fully awake, pulling himself free from the blankets, half-running, half-crawling to her, eyes wide and deeply anxious. "Goddess! I'm so sorry!" he whispered frantically, immediately prising her hand away from her side.

She whimpered, shutting her eyes in pain. Her skin felt burned and hard, hot and…

"It's not too bad," he whispered relieved. Almost mournfully, he gently pried away a bit of the burned material of her nightdress away from her skin. "Sorry about the nightdress." Sarah almost laughed at the absurdity of that.

"I know how to heal it," he whispered. "Just…trust me." He placed his hand on her waist, over the burn, his palm first cool like ice, then gradually becoming warmer, sending a shiver through her.

Then a strange, warm pain shot through her and violet fire played along the darkness behind her closed eyelids, too bright just to be the sleepy, pain-filled darkness.

Kierlan? She gasped, but her words didn't come out in a way she'd expected them to.

Sarah? Kierlan sounded just as baffled as her. What's going on?


	4. The New Realm

Chapter 4

She was in the most beautiful, amazing place possible to exist. She trembled and Kierlan hung onto her like he feared the place. "But this is wonderful," she whispered, touching his hand, feeling like she was magic herself.

He didn't look so certain of it. "You're human," he murmured, eyes puzzled.

"Didn't you know that?" she asked, confused.

Frustrated, he threw his hands up. "No! I thought you were just…I don't know. A vampire maybe. Cos, after all, you're beautiful, and you do have a boyfriend…who's a vampire…" his voice trailed off and her joy at being in this strange, lovely place drained away.

"What is going on?" she asked quietly, keeping her hands in her lap, seeming smaller now.

Kierlan seemed reluctant to speak.

"Please, you know what this place is?" Sarah implored anxiously, dread and guilt managing to worm their ways into her mind.

"It's…the Soulmate connection," he whispered.

Her heart fell and she shook her head frantically. "No. Absolutely not!" She stared at him in disbelief, fear. "You are not my Soulmate, Kierlan!"

"What's so bad about me?" he retorted. "Is it that I'm a witch? Or that I'm a Wild Power? I'm sorry for hitting you with witch fire. I was startled, okay? And only half awake!"

She got to her feet, backing away from him, her heart beginning to pound at the anger shining in his violet eyes, making her dizzy. "You can't even control your powers, Kierlan! You're like Susie: treat magic like barely nothing, when to me it's…everything. I don't want to be under magic's thrall."

"So you think that you're under Soulmate thrall?" he asked quietly.

"No!" she snapped. "Not unless I give in to it! And I shan't… I love Blade!"

He recoiled as though she'd struck him. "Blade," he said softly. "The vampire…boyfriend."

She nodded fiercely, lips pressed together tightly. "Yes, Kierlan. I love Blade. You can't be my Soulmate. He is."

"So he can take you here?" he waved his hand to take in all the place around them, the air scented with something so fragrant, as though walking through a meadow of flowers, warm like the sunlight was pouring down on them, tinted violet that she could see the…nothingness around them. It tried to calm her, but now that she remembered Blade so clearly… "no," she admitted. "But he…speaks to my mind. He knows everything about me. He loves me."

"Any vampire can speak to a human's mind," Kierlan told her firmly, then felt appalling shame and guilt as bewilderment showed in Sarah's perfectly brown eyes. He suddenly felt a longing to chase that emotion away, took a step closer like she was frightened animal, close enough to see the faint sparks of green in her brown eyes, how long her eyelashes were, the faint rosy blush in her cheeks. He slipped his hands around her and she stepped away, frightened. Disappointment showed in his eyes. Sadness. It hurt her, too, deeper than even her fear of hurting Blade, that ran within her.

Trembling, she reached out, touched Kierlan's hand. That magic was still there, like a cloud of butterflies had set upon him, fluttering faster when she touched his hand. She stepped closer, like those silver butterflies of magic had chased away her fears. He leaned closer, a hand's height taller than her, and let his lips graze along hers, a soft, tentative first kiss, sweet as morning dew. It wasn't her that ended the kiss. It was him.

She opened her eyes, and they were there, back in Kierlan's room, against the wall, his hand still along her side, she saw her skin was smooth and perfect again, as though there'd never been a burn. She felt as though perhaps she'd been dreaming.

With sadness, he watched Sarah flee the room, then raised a hand to touch his lips, still feeling, like a dream, his hand on her waist, her lips on his.


	5. Promise of a surprise

Chapter 5

"Good morning," Blade greeted her, startling her. She mumbled something indistinct, hugging her pillow to her face, wriggling deeper into the duvet, where it was beautifully warm.

"You've got lessons today," he said insistently, tugging her duvet away and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. "The sooner you're finished, the sooner you get back—" he winked at her, "and the sooner you get your surprise."

"Surprise?" she asked warily.

"You'll like it," he assured her, tossing some clothes at her. "So hurry up!"

"What sort of surprise?" she asked stubbornly.

He winked. "Get changed, Sarah. Otherwise there'll be no breakfast left for you."

"I'll see you later?" she asked, reluctantly pulling at the folded clothes, turning the jumper outside-in, pulling out its sleeves. "Oh go on," she sighed. "Go and get your breakfast, Blaze."

Immediately, he left, and she sat still on the edge of her bed, fighting to remember what had happened last night… then she moaned and covered her head with her hands, as the memory flooded back, tossing images, as sharp as knives, at her until she could feel Kierlan's warm, throbbing lips against her own, feel the hot tingle running through every inch of her body. And with it came the guilt: she'd betrayed Blade. Kierlan was determined and she'd encouraged the illusion that she ought to be with him.

"How could I?" she whispered, appalled.

Then it was washed away in a flood of anger. At Kierlan. "He's wrong!" she insisted softly, eyes wide, remembering how Kierlan had said…that Blade wasn't meant for her. "For goddess's sake!" she almost yelled, frustrated. "I haven't even known Kierlan a day…and I've known Blade…years! He's wrong!"

Then she yelped again as the distant aroma of scrambled eggs reached her nose. Scrambling into her jeans and sweater, she ran down the stairs, hopping on one foot with perfect skill, down each step as she tugged a sneaker on.

"Stop that!" Rita yelled, jerking her hand. Sarah slowed involuntarily and obeyed, walking down the stairs, one sneaker dangling from her hand, the other on her foot with its laces untied.

"You'll break your neck one day," Rita threatened, nipping back into the kitchen. "Hurry up!" Susie called.

Kierlan was there. He didn't look at Sarah: just concentrated on balancing scrambled eggs on his fork.

"I was hoping you and Susie would show Kierlan around the area," Rita said casually.

Sarah flinched.

"But Blade's asked to have you for the day," Rita continued, seeming not to notice Sarah's jitteriness.

"Scrambled egg?" Susie asked. Sarah nodded and Susie turned to Kierlan. "Kierlan? Can you pass the egg?"

"Wha?" he flinched, startled, then shrugged, reached out and passed the plate of bacon to her.

Susie rolled her eyes at Sarah, who laughed nervously, helping herself to a few slices of bacon.

"So, Blade's taking you out on a date?" Susie asked slyly.

Kierlan didn't react, just watched his scrambled egg stonily, stabbing into a piece of sausage with his fork, not saying anything.

"You're not having lessons today, anyway," Rita said, somewhat casually.

Susie's eyes lit up. "Great!"

"For her," Rita said calmly. "You have lessons, Susannah. And so does Kierlan."

Susie looked appalled, her fork dropping to her plate with a clatter. "What? How come?" she demanded, appalled.

"So you may as well meet up with Blade once you've had breakfast," Rita continued, unruffled.

"He's in town at the moment," Sarah replied. "He'll be back in a while."

Rita didn't ask why Blade was there. Susie rolled her eyes though. "He's at the club," she explained obnoxiously to Kierlan.

"Club?" Kierlan queried. "What sort of club?" his voice had risen in interest.

"Where vampires can get their fix of blood," Susie said wryly.

"And where witches can flirt to their heart's content," Sarah said sharply, looking at Susie.

Kierlan looked interested at that.

"No," Rita said sharply. "You're keeping a low profile here. All of you. Especially you, Kierlan."

Kierlan scowled. "I can cast a glamour," he pointed out, annoyed.

"I'll see about that," Rita said evenly, though Sarah was sure she'd detected annoyance in Susie's mother's voice. "It'd be best to either stay in your room, Sarah, or stay outside." She knew Sarah didn't feel like hanging around when magic was being worked.

Taking her plate to the sink, wiping a dishrag over it, rinsing it and stacking it, Sarah glanced outside.

It was bleak. Mist hung thickly in the air, obscuring the forest that had been reduced from black to pale grey by the mist's strength. When she walked outside, the air was cool and damp. Rita tossed her coat out and Sarah caught it, pulling it on over her sweater, ignoring Kierlan's last glance at her before he left the kitchen.


	6. Cougar in the Forest

Chapter 6

Treading deeper into the forest, she could hear the rain, first soft and dull, growing faster and harder, sending leaves falling to the floor around her, torn from their thick branches.

"You shouldn't be this far from the house," Angelo said softly, making her jump.

She faced him. "Do you have to sneak around so much?" she asked, her heart thudding.

He was cruelly handsome, with such pale eyes, like wintry sunlight, his dark hair streaked blond, untidily pushed back, a thick fringe of it falling into his left eye. He strode through the forest like he owned it, and in a way he did: he was a shape-shifter, transforming into a cougar. He watched Sarah like he was interested in her, but he did that to every female: males he would regard like opponents.

"I'm a guard," he reminded her coolly. "I'm meant to sneak around, Strange."

Her lips twisted in a smile, partly relieved to be in the company of a guy who certainly wasn't interested in her romantically, nor was able to do anything magical, could only transform and rip her apart.

"So no activity?" she asked keenly.

"Nah," he said carelessly. "Just the new kid. Two werewolves tried to follow his escort, but I dealt with them."

She shuddered at the way he said it, and an absurd image appeared in her head, imagining Angelo tossing the bodies of two werewolves into a river, chains and blocks of concrete around their feet. She didn't doubt it of him at all: there was an angry wilderness in his pale, wintry eyes under light blond eyebrows, a bright, excited flush in his cheeks as he set off walking. But she followed him, because he knew the forest so well.

"There," he said knowingly, pointing at the churned up earth. "A squirrel dug up its foods there. Then a fox came and carried it off."

She looked at the ground: saw the lone pawprint of the fox among the scuffled earth, the only clue of it.

"It happened this morning," Angelo continued, giving her a small, sideways smile. "When the fox was dozy and barely able to believe his luck."

"How d'you know?" she asked interestedly.

"I watched," he said simply, still smiling, that gleam in his wintry eyes.

She laughed despite herself and he laughed too, after a moment.

"I'm sure the boy will try and run away tonight," Angelo continued, smiling pleasantly. "Do you want to help me catch him and knock sense into him?"

"Run away?" she asked, astonished. "Kierlan?"

"He hates it here," Angelo said calmly. "Loathes it with all his heart. He'll run through the forest until he thinks he's near civilisation. And I shall catch him, take him back to Rita and tell him just what he's got into."

It was times like this that Angelo spooked her.

"You've got a heart of ice," Sarah said, keeping her voice calm.

"Some people say I'm crazy," Angelo agreed.

"And what do you think?" she'd asked him this before. He gave her the same answer. "Let people think what they think."

Then he asked her again, setting off walking again as though following a route set out for him. "So, will you help me catch the boy?"

"Why should I?" she asked, amazed.

"He'll hate you," Angelo said comfortably. "And if you're good enough, he'll fear you too."

"Why should I hate him?" she asked numbly.

And his pale, wintry eyes found her. "You answer that, Strange."

With that, he changed his route, making his way back to the edge of the forest, up mounds of bracken and fern, weaving between discarded badger sets and rotting tree stumps. Teasingly, he flicked ferns to spring back into her face and twitched at branches to shower her with droplets of the rain. She took it in her stride, her mind buzzing with what he'd said. Sometimes I wonder if he's not an Old Soul, she thought in amazement. How can he see so much? Even more than a shapeshifter.

Then she reached the edge of the forest. Angelo didn't even pause, leaving her there and striding back into the forest to stroll the paths as though hungry for trouble, for hunting out intruders.

Maybe I should want him to hate me, she thought numbly, coming to the kitchen door just as a streak of light lit up the window of the study. Susie, she thought knowingly with a smile, creeping to the window.

"See?" Susie was saying earnestly, standing only a breath away from Kierlan, her arms stretched out, her palms cupped like she held water within them. "Make a shape with it, Kierlan. Control the magic, and its form."

She didn't duck in time from the window through which she watched them. Kierlan's eyes met hers, startled, just as his magic left his palms, like an arrow of blue mist, then carved out a blue misty shape in the air between them, of a heart.

He watched her steadily, his face clear even through his misty magic, as the heart wavered and stayed there, hanging in the air.

Horrified, she broke free from his spell and bolted into the kitchen, up the stairs to her room where she slammed the door shut, leaning her back against it.


	7. Escape

Chapter 7

Blade returned in the afternoon. With him came Angelo, who went to the kitchen to make some lunch for himself.

"Who's patrolling?" Rita asked in annoyance.

"Me," came Angelo's unruffled reply, "once I've had something to eat."

Rita hmmphed but didn't say anything else, as Angelo came out a second later, a sandwich in his hand, and left the house just as swiftly and casually as he'd come in, giving a quick nod to Sarah and Blade before shutting the door behind himself.

"How's the new kid doing?" Blade queried.

At that point, Kierlan left the study, regarding Blade with calm violet eyes.

"Definitely a Harman," Blade noted.

Kierlan turned and walked away, into the kitchen, the door clapping shut behind him.

Uneasily, Sarah put on her coat. "So where are we going, Blade?"

"Can we go upstairs for a second?" Blade queried.

She shrugged, "sure."

As they started up the stairs, Susie called for Blade, then came out into the hallway, her face red. "Where'd he go?" she demanded. "He said he was getting a drink."

Rita pointed to the kitchen and Susie swiftly went there, then stopped dead in the doorway. "Damn," she said lightly, holding the door open so everyone could see.

The kitchen was empty. The back door was ajar.

Immediately, Blade became brisk and brusque, "I'll find him," he told them, giving Sarah a brief kiss on the cheek. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Sorry," Susie told Sarah miserably. "About spoiling the afternoon for you and Blade."

"It's not your fault Kierlan's an idiot," Sarah said disdainfully, looking at Rita. "Should I go out and help?"

Rita shook her head.

Then there was the sudden sound of a car engine, loud and breaking the silence as sharp as a thunderclap.

"Okay, maybe we should," Rita changed her mind, eyes wide with worry. "Girls, "I'll see what car that is."

Susie's face had paled. Sarah was worried too: it could be an intruder, perhaps with Kierlan already tied up in the backseat, helpless as the car would rush to Hunter, who'd have him swiftly executed for sure…

She wriggled into her coat and went by the back door, through the garden, the back gate clicking shut behind her as she headed towards the forest, her eyes to the ground.

"Where d'you think you're going?" Angelo demanded, suddenly beside her.

"I wanted to help," Sarah said, embarrassed.

"You're just going to get lost," he said, stating a fact.

"So I can't help," she guessed, turning to head back to the house, feeling like an idiot.

"No, just come with me," he said wearily, surprising her. With that, he dove back into the forest, breaking into a long-strided lope, dodging large, wild bushes of fern and thorns, twisting to dodge branches, his footsteps silent. "Don't bother being quiet," he advised. "Just hurry."

"He's nuts," Sarah muttered.

"Of course," Angelo smiled thinly. "Aren't all Wild Powers?"

"You've actually met other Wild Powers?" she asked, intrigued.

"A cousin's guarding one," he nodded. "She writes to me. A few other friends in the main safehouse guard too. I visit them on days off."

The rushing river was growing louder, the ground more moist, suddenly plunged into a slope. Angelo stepped light as a deer, then pointed ahead. "He's remembered that the road is up above the cliffs," he said with approval. "And he's making his way to the nearest bus station."

"That'd take hours!" Sarah murmured, disgusted. "Half an hour, just by bike. Walking…that'd take hours. And it's hiking country."

"He's crazy," Angelo said sarcastically. Then she remembered that Angelo enjoyed hiking to the town, like a hobby. "I didn't mean you," she said. "You're fit. Kierlan's a city boy."

"Well, he's got a bit of talent for it," Angelo noted as he broke into a run, then leapt over the narrowest bit of river, clearing it with inches to spare. "Wait there!" he called. "Look for Kierlan. He's hiding in the bushes on your side."

"What!" Startled, she looked around, then looked at Angelo. "Then why'd you go—" her voice trailed off as Angelo suddenly transformed to his cougar shape, bounding off into the bushes, his tawny fur rippling, uttering a coarse, challenging roar.

Shuddering, she involuntarily stepped back as Angelo came back into sight, dragging something with him.

A vampire, she realised giddily, as the thing yelled and scratched viciously at Angelo, who almost playfully leapt away, baring fangs.

"Angelo!" Blade yelled, running past Sarah, leaping over the river, landing in a roll, up to his feet again, a surging stride as he threw himself at someone who'd been about to sneak up on the transformed Angelo.

"Get Kierlan out of here!" Blade shouted at Sarah and she turned, instinctively going to the nearest bush, catching a glint of violet eyes. Kierlan broke free and ran, away from her. She gave chase, thanking the goddess that Susie and Rita insisted on a bit of exercise once in a while, like hiking to the town. And that she was naturally good at long-distance running. Then Susie appeared, jerked out her hand in a 'stop' motion at Sarah, who swiftly obeyed, knowing magic was about to happen. Rita stood beside her, jerked her hands out in a motion, weaving magic, and Kierlan slammed to a halt, bewildered.

Rita looked grim, going to the boy and taking hold of his hands. "You almost collided with a hunting party of vampires," she told the boy darkly. "They'd certainly be far worse than us! They'd drag you to Hunter and have your head cut off."

Kierlan looked at Sarah, like she was the one to betray him. She did her best to ignore him, instead turning to look in the direction of where Blade and Angelo fought off the vampires and shapeshifter that had come for Kierlan.


	8. She Learned

Chapter 8

The club was dim on the outside, like a cinema, large windows like dark eyes, the door was especially like jaws, with a ragged black curtain hanging from the top ledge as though it had been slashed. A tendril of its coarse material scraped against her cheek as she passed through into the cloak room behind it.

Blade took her coat, hanging it in a corner along with his own knee-length black leather coat. Timidly, she followed him into the room, followed by two other people, dressed entirely in black as though for a funeral that carefully ignored her.

A bar tender sleepily rinsed spectacles with a cloth before pressing them back on the bridge of his fleshy nose, shooting a glance at her through watery eyes and turning to polishing a pint glass.

There were about six other couples sitting at the small round tables scattered throughout the room, a few strobe lights shedding watery white light down from the rafters, from which came a few movements every few seconds: bats were clustered within the roof, dozily waiting for nightfall. A breeze of brisk cold air sped through a small window through which the bats would leave at dark.

A crowd of kids were by what she presumed to be a stage, though it was small enough really to be only called a pedestal, around which was clustered the dark shapes of instruments: a set of drums, a guitar case hanging open like a vampire's coffin. Talking of which, one of the 'kids' turned and flashed a pair of fangs at her in a leer. She kept her eyes on the ground after that, as Blade led her to a table. "Do you want something to drink?" he asked awkwardly as though stuck for something to say.

She spread her hands in a small, helpless gesture. "I don't mind."

"I'll get you a drink then," he said, swiftly walking away as a girl twisted to face her, sitting at a table a small distance away. She wore crimson nail polish, a silver ring on her finger with a black dahlia… witch, Sarah remembered suddenly.

"Hazel," the girl introduced herself coolly. "Who are you?" she spoke as if Sarah was a filthy rat and she a princess.

"Sarah," she answered just as coldly.

"Don't go icy on me," the girl said in exactly the same tone with just a touch of exasperation. "I don't pick my voice, honey."

"Too right she doesn't," the guy sitting with her agreed earnestly, nodding, a hand curled around a glass of coke. The girl, Hazel, turned and smiled at her partner briefly before turning back to Sarah. "I just noticed that you're on edge. It gave me a headache." She said it all plainly like commenting on her makeup.

"Sorry," Sarah muttered.

"Watch out," the guy warned. "Hazel thrives on getting herself embroiled in everyone else's problems."

"Whereas he drowns himself in knowing the future," Hazel shot back. "And loses track of the present."

The guy nodded like he was used to agreeing with Hazel.

Blaze had come back just in time to hear the last part of it. "If you can tell the future," he said casually, "then how about telling Sarah's future."

"Twenty dollars," the guy said, bored, holding out a hand expectantly.

Worse, Blaze was actually putting his hand in his pocket.

"No," Sarah said in dismay, putting a hand on his arm. "Don't."

He gave her a mischievous smile. "Afraid of knowing what lies ahead?"

How could she say that yes, she was? Afraid that knowing might tamer with what lay ahead or worse…what if there should be a mention of Kierlan? At that, her blood ran cold. "No," she said fiercely. "But it's not worth it, Blaze. Please."

Puzzled, he frowned at her, then sighed and took his hand from his pocket. "How about if I prove it's okay?" he asked good-naturedly, a twenty dollar bill in his hand. He handed it to the guy.

"It's—" she stopped herself: she'd been about to say that it was a waste of time. But saying that in the hearing of not one witch but two was asking for trouble. She bit her tongue and looked down at the table.

"He takes ages," Hazel said drowsily, getting up. Blade took her chair as the guy tucked the twenty dollar bill into his wallet. She came and sat by Sarah. "Are you okay?"

Sarah shrugged, afraid of what the guy might say.

"Lance doesn't mess with the future, don't worry," Hazel assured her. "He's got like a colour code in his head telling him what's important not to say and what can be said. It'll all be trivial stuff, don't worry."

She tried to listen in on what the guy was saying to Blade, but the two males were quietly talking now, heads close together. Fear clutched at her insides like wiry thread binding her.

Blaze looked satisfied enough when he sat back, lightly placing a hand on her shoulder as Hazel got up and went back to her chair. "Wait," Lance lightly requested and Hazel stood still. Standing up, he murmured something in her ear and a look of intrigue came over Hazel's face until she finally nodded and took a ten dollar bill from his hand, going to the bar for another drink.

"How about a free reading?" Lance murmured in her ear, suddenly standing behind her. "How about it, little mouse?"

Blade grinned. "Come on, Sarah. He's good at it. He knows what he's talking about…a free reading isn't anything to sneeze at."

"Too right," Lance agreed, crouching slightly to speak softly in her ear. "I'll do it privately, where he can't hear," he promised.

At that, Blade looked disappointed then shrugged, giving Sarah a small smile. "How about it?" he cajoled.

"Oh, fine," Sarah sighed, then got up. "You won't tell any of this stuff to anyone else?" she asked worriedly.

Lance shook his head, wrinkling his nose. "Nah. I want to know what's going on. Who you are, Sarah Strange."


	9. Hurting the Vampire

Chapter 9

They sat down in the corner, a golden lamp glowing down distantly from the rafters, illuminating Lance's chestnut hair and creamy skin, his green eyes glinting like a cat's, a dimple in his cheek as he intently studied her palm, grasping it in both hands as he turned it slightly to study it. "I don't like palm reading much," he admitted. "But it works sometimes. I'm better at scrying. And tarot cards."

Twang!

They both flinched and turned as a guitar string twanged, saw the group of vampire kids tuning their instruments. Most of the other people had been startled by the harsh sound too, the couple that she'd seen in the cloakroom had pulled apart from their faces being bare inches apart, either talking intimately or kissing.

A soft laugh came from Lance's throat and she turned back to face him.

He smiled slightly. "So, there's another guy in your life? Don't lie, please. It's tiresome."

That was another lesson she'd learned from Rita and Susie: don't lie to them.

"Yes," she admitted, eyes lowered guiltily.

"You can't help who you love," he said frankly. "Goddess knows I'd happily love anyone than Hazel. But I'm meant to be with her."

"But isn't it meant to be about being with someone who makes you happy?" she asked, annoyed.

"And he doesn't?" Lance asked. She knew perfectly well that he meant Kierlan.

"He annoys me," she answered.

"He does more than that to you," he said with a grin. Then his smile faded. "Are you going to choose which one of them to be with?"

"I want to be with Blade," she said stubbornly.

"They'd both want to be with you forever," he reminded her icily. "But who do you want to be with, forever?"

"Kierlan's selfish!" she snapped. "He's obnoxious, self-centred and rude. I can't be with him! I'd go insane!"

"Then chances are, you're being selfish too," he said quietly.

"Me!" Sarah exclaimed.

He nodded. "He's a Wild Power," he said quietly. "He'll one day be responsible for saving our lives, Sarah. Four less one and darkness triumphs. And maybe it'll be less one if he refuses to. Maybe the prophecy isn't talking about the Wild Powers. Maybe it means the Soulmates. All the Wild Powers have Soulmates—"

"Iliana doesn't," Sarah snapped. "So your little theory's bull!"

"Hmm," he ruefully nodded. "But I suppose… I mean, Kierlan's the only one alone. Iliana's got plenty of friends. The half-vampire Wild Power has her Soulmate, the vampire prince has his Soulmate. Kierlan has no one. But you…you're his Soulmate."

Sarah gave up, stood up stiffly. "Good bye," she said stiffly. "Thank you." She didn't mean a single word of that. She turned and strode back to Blade. Hazel blinked at her, startled, not smiling anymore.

"Hey, you okay?" Blade touched her arm lightly.

She nodded jerkily, not sitting down. "Can we go?" she asked tersely.

He frowned, concerned, and immediately got up. "Of course."

"Good luck, Sarah," Lance called.

She snorted, forgetting her internal rule of never coming close to insulting witches. But he only frowned, troubled, and sat back down beside Hazel.

"Blade?" a girl came over and shyly tucked a thick strand of her blonde hair behind her ear.

"Yes?" Blade asked wearily.

"We have the same sire," she said, smiling shyly. "Donaigo. He's told me a whole lot about you."

Blade's eyes brightened with interest. "You've seen him recently?"

She shook her head, "not recently. I was made a year ago. I came back to work with Daybreak. I'm down here from Vegas for a few weeks. Figured I'd try and talk to you…?" she smiled sweetly and Sarah didn't feel a single glint of envy.

"Could I meet up with you some other time?" Blade asked eventually. "I need to get Sarah back home. I can't leave her in this place alone, after all."

The girl slumped, disappointed. "I think I'll be working for the rest of my trip, Blade. I'm sorry."

Blade looked caught.

"I'll take her back home," a familiar voice offered coolly from behind them. Blade turned his head. "What are you doing here?" he asked, trying to sound casual. "You're meant to stay back at the house."

"Susie came with me," Kierlan replied calmly, shadows slanting across his face.

Susie was regarding Sarah with something near disgust. "I think we need to talk," she said stiffly.

"I'm sorry, but we'll have to leave that talk," Blade said regretfully to the vampire girl. She looked even more disappointed, sighed and nodded.

"Now, to get you three all back home," Blade said, his voice cold now. "No argument. All of you. To the car."

"I'd like to talk with Sarah," Kierlan said quietly but clearly.

"No," Sarah said shortly.

"Why?" Blade asked, ushering them out into the cloakroom.

"Please." Kierlan said quietly, his voice strange, tinged with desperation.

"Maybe later," Blade snapped, snatching up his coat and Sarah's, practically throwing it at her, his eyes flicking around, his nostrils flaring. He rushed them out into the street. It was pouring rain.

"No, dammit!" Kierlan snapped. "Sarah! We have to talk now!" He stood stock still. "We're Soul—"

"Please, no!" Sarah yelled desperately, twisting her head to look around. The street seemed empty but now, with the Wild Power so close to her, she felt as though there was danger all around them, Hunter Redfern or any one of his followers could be anywhere…

"We're Soulmates!" Kierlan almost screamed, standing in front of her, fists clenched. "You felt it!" he said earnestly, reaching forward, touching her cheek, just to show her, as a sparkle of invisible electricity flared between them. Her heart raced with terror.

Blade stood utterly still, a look of disbelief on his face.

Then, with a look of utter defeat on his face as Sarah couldn't say anything, he walked to his car, waited for them to follow. He didn't say anything as he drove them home.


	10. Kierlan and Blade

Chapter 10

She ran through violet mist, darker violet than Kierlan's eyes, almost black. Forest branches crashed against her, slashing her like slender knives until she just wanted to curl up and die, bleeding from all these wounds.

Then Kierlan was there, his hands glowing violet with healing magic. But his eyes…were the dark violet of the mist. Terrified, she got to her feet, stumbling back into the forest, barely avoiding the gnarled roots of trees and the holes from where animals dug their burrows.

"Sarah!" Kierlan called distantly, sounding concerned. But she didn't want him to be near, she just ran faster, harder, like a dark sylph through the forest, her feet sinking deeper and deeper into puddles of oozing black mud that sucked at her, trying to pull her down into its depths. And Kierlan's voice died away.

But she couldn't get free of the mud. She started screaming for help, her clothes clinging muddily to her. The sky crashed and rain poured down, drowning her, the mud rising higher and higher, past her waist, she tried to swim through it, but it was thick as glue… sobbing, she screamed louder, as loud as she could, until her voice was hoarse and sore.

"Here." Blade reached down from the tree that towered over her, kneeling on its thickest branch, and grabbed her wrist.

"Blade!" she sobbed, clinging to him like a last hope.

"Here!" Kierlan skidded to a stop by the edge of this unnatural swamp, and tossed out a rope that landed within her reach. Blade kept holding her hand, but had frozen. "Which of us shall save you?" he asked, like it was a normal day. Her fingers felt slippery against his skin. She reached out for the rope, but Kierlan stood still too, watching her sadly.

Then the rope wasn't rope. It was silver thread. A silver cord between them. Desperation swelled in her, bewildered. Blade still had his hand wrapped around her wrist. She still held the cord. Despairing, she couldn't choose.

"Let me choose for you, then." With infinite sadness in his amber eyes, Blade let go of her wrist and she fell, plunging back into the drowning black mud. And the cord slipped from her grasp. Floundering, she fought to get to the surface, suffocating and weighed down by the heavy black mud.

Distantly, she felt arms wrap around her, pulling her up to the surface, towing her back to the bank, up onto the soggy land. "Breathe," Kierlan urged, kissed her, breathing magic into her lungs, like warm meadow air that surged through her like electricity, forcing feeling into her again.

Gasping, she woke up. And Kierlan was there. She lay on her floor.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly.

She knew he meant far more in those words. "So you should be," she said softly, breathlessly, shuddering hard.

"I got into your dream," Kierlan said apologetically. "I didn't mean to. Honestly. I heard you fall from your bed, and pretty much…" he shrugged. "Rushed in." She laughed softly, disbelieving at this feeling of déjà vu, and picked up her duvet, untwisting it and laying it back on her bed.

"I honestly didn't mean to say it in front of Blade," Kierlan said earnestly. "I mean, I don't think I did…I just got angry. I eman, I suppose I was eavesdropping, so it's my fault, but I wouldn't have said it in front of him. I guess, when I touched you, it made me lose my senses…"

"You're not talking very much sense," Sarah said brusquely, sitting on the edge of her bed, shivering. Kierlan timidly sat beside her, then smiled weakly. "Sheesh. You scare me, Sarah Strange. You snap like a wolf."

"Thank you," she said sarcastically.

"I like wolves," he said quietly, as calmly as he could. "It's no insult."

"What the heck were you talking about?" she asked harshly. "Eavesdropping on me? When?"

"In the club," he said quietly. "I listened to that guy…Lance? Reading your palm. And I heard…" his throat constricted with the effort of saying this. "You said you hated me. That I'm obnoxious. Self-centred. I make you unhappy."

"So far, you've managed to make my boyfriend—probably ex-boyfriend by now—miserable," she said coolly. "You've almost killed me with witchfire. You've insulted my best friend. I can't imagine why you make me unhappy."

"I'm sorry," he said, lowering his eyes. "I don't want a Soulmate either."

"Bit late for that," she retorted.

"Seeing as I might not even live," he shrugged, looking away, towards the window. "Four less one and darkness triumphs. He's right. I die, and leave a Soulmate behind. I don't want anyone grieving for me."

Doing good so far, snapped the cruel part of her mind.

"And I don't want to care for someone else if we should lose anyway," he continued feverishly. "But it's too late. I think about you, no matter what. It's messing with my magic. I need to be able to control my magic, especially when it comes to…saving the world. That stuff. And you…you drive me…and my magic…crazy."

She thought of the misty heart shape, her own heart sinking. "You drive me crazy too," she said softly, as though her tongue wasn't connected to her brain.

The sadness in his eyes darkened to something desperate as she said that. He suddenly, leaned forward, sliding his hand around her neck, kissing her lips with an urgency, like his last chance. And the hate receded to the back of her mind, as his desperation crept into her mind, the silver cord gripping her like chains as she kissed him back, more important than breathing, as they fell back against the bed, his body on hers, his lips on hers, everything else receding but him and her.


	11. Soulstar

Chapter 11

In the morning, she was alone, curled up in a small ball on her bed, the duvet neatly and gently tucked around her, tear tracks down her cheeks. Feeling heavy-hearted, she dressed in jeans, T-shirt and sneakers. She almost crept down the stairs once she'd scrubbed her face.

"All the cold water in the world won't wash that blush off your cheeks," Susie informed her stiffly, looking up from her breakfast.

Great. Susie seemed angry at her too.

"Blade left last night," Rita said, stirring scrambled eggs in a saucepan as she stood by the stove.

"He did what?" Sarah asked numbly.

"He left," Susie said shortly. "Two-timing does that to a person."

"She wasn't two-timing him," Kierlan said from the doorway. Susie looked frostily at him. "That remains to be seen."

Kierlan fell silent and left the kitchen.

"We'll get a new bodyguard sent within the day," Rita said busily, reserving judgment. "For now we have Angelo and Damoran."

"I thought he went," Susie frowned.

"He stayed in town," Rita said briskly. "He'll check in on us. Angelo's keeping an eye on things. But you lot had best stay in the house today."

Susie looked perfectly unhappy with that, almost angry. Getting up, she put the knife and fork together neatly on her plate then stalked from the room like an angry cat.

"It isn't your fault," Rita said quietly, not looking at Sarah.

"It is," Sarah said just as quietly. "I really hurt Blade's feelings."

"Soulmates do that," Rita said with a slight shrug. "There's often someone hurt. We have two people coming to stay with us. One as a bodyguard and one as…company. Would you mind sharing your room with one of them? Since Susie's clearly not in a co-operating mood. Not to mention you'd have more in common with this girl."

"Who?" Sarah asked half-heartedly.

"You'll see," Rita said, turning and beginning to dish out the scrambled egg into a bowl. "Help yourself. I have a feeling breakfast is going to be sparsely populated today."

Half-heartedly, Sarah picked at the heap of scrambled eggs that Rita forked onto her plate. "What do I do about Susie?"

"Susie'll be fine," Rita said calmly. "She'll cool off as long as she has some time to herself."

"Do you know where Blade went?" Sarah asked, pushing her plate aside finally, her breakfast barely touched.

Rita shook her head. "And if I did know, I wouldn't tell you," she said firmly. "He needs time to himself too. Maybe you need time to yourself too. So go upstairs, and think through things. I'm going to try and teach Kierlan a few ways to protect himself from physical and magical blows."

"Good luck," Sarah murmured, and obeyed, going upstairs, passing Kierlan on the stairs. He gave her a careful, wary look as though affirming something in his own mind, then looked away, hurrying as Rita called him more insistently.

Music boomed from Susie's room. "She'll go deaf," Sarah mumbled worriedly: it was one of Rita's complaints too. Today it was Eminem: clearly, Susie was in something of a homicidal mood.

Evanescence was more her style. Skipping it to track 4, she lay back on her bed, her arms crossed behind her head, vaguely watching the swirls of paint on the ceiling.

Blade is gone, she thought, a tear forming at the corner of her eye. I hurt him, and I'm not even sure I want to be with Kierlan. Just because we're Soulmates…so far, it hasn't really meant anything, just that we're…connected. But that doesn't mean we feel anything for each other.

And he was right. He could die. He was a Wild Power: hunted by so many of the Night World. Could she really cope with that…?

Involuntarily, she thought of her father. He'd been away every day, from early in the morning, to late in the evening, would only be able to say goodnight, give her a quick kiss on the forehead then turn off the light and leave the room, clicking the door shut quietly behind him.

"He loved mother," she murmured, frowning. "And she loved him, no matter what. Were they human Soulmates? Is that why she put up with it?"

But she wasn't sure that she could cope with knowing that Kierlan might be killed any day. Blade had been tough, a fighter. Kierlan was a streetkid like her, and stupid enough to try and run into the forest…and he makes me forget everything when he kisses me, she thought suddenly, giddily, involuntarily touching her lips with her fingertips as though she could capture the feeling.

Reaching up, she unclasped the beautiful necklace that Blade had given her. She'd hurt him so much: it wasn't right to wear it. It was like mockery. Its delicate chain pooled like cold metallic silk in her hand, she opened her jewellery box, for it would be safe there…then she couldn't. She couldn't put it there. Trying to fight against that feeling for a few minutes, she gave up and put it in her pocket instead.


	12. Two Fave Nightworld People

Chapter 12

In the evening, the two new 'guests' arrived. Sarah noticed, as she came downstairs, that Rita embraced the girl far more warmly than the guy, which wasn't about gender difference. It was a clue to what they were.

The girl had dark, shiny hair, her skin was healthily tanned. When she turned and looked at Sarah, her eyes were clear blue with an intelligent sharpness. "You must be Sarah," she said.

Sarah nodded.

The guy had extraordinary eyes, that shifted colour as swiftly as thunderclouds forming in the sky, as flames crackling in the fire. His hair was ash blond. He stood uneasily, his eyes often drifting to the girl as though she might disappear.

Playfully, the girl lightly elbowed him. "Don't worry. I'll be gone tomorrow, Ash."

A slight smile twitched at his face and he relaxed, touching her hand lightly, then turned to Rita. "I'd prefer that M'lin stays here for as short a time as possible. So she doesn't go anywhere near the others."

"I wish Sarah would do that as well," Rita agreed. "But it's a bit late for that. We're all involved, whether we like it or not."

The girl, M'lin, was more serious suddenly, offering out a hand, clasping Sarah's. "I'm Mary-Lynette," she said gravely. "Ash's soulmate. He's a vampire, I'm a human."

Sarah blinked, startled. "I guess you know then," she mumbled.

"Human Soulmates aren't too bad," Ash said, suddenly teasingly, though his eyes were the musing colour, for one second, of willow tree bark.

"And neither are supernatural Soulmates," Mary-Lynette shot back firmly. "Now. Sarah. Shall we go off and talk? Leave all the witches, werewolves and vampires to their stuff?"

"Your room's tidy, isn't it?" Rita asked knowingly. It was only Susie who ever seemed to get her room messy.

"I'm just going to stay here the night, then head back," Mary-Lynette said as she sat down in the desk chair. Sarah sat down on the edge of her bed. "So what's your Soulmate like, Sarah?"

For once, she didn't feel like bad-mouthing Kierlan. "He's a nice guy…underneath," she said carefully, not certain if she was telling the truth. The corner of Mary-Lynette's lips twitched. "Loathe him with a burning passion?"

"No!" Sarah shook her head immediately. "I just…find him hard to get alone with, sometimes."

"Who doesn't?" Mary-Lynette wanted to know. "Look, I'm not going to play Dr. Laura to your love problems. I'll just tell you that I had a bit of a similar problem. Two Nightworld guys wanting me. Of course, one of them was homicidal, the other was insane—" she laughed at herself, eyes distant and melancholy for a moment, remembering something. "But there's a reason your Soulmate's Kierlan Harman. Just like there's a reason my Soulmate's Ash Redfern."

"That I'm meant to teach him the error of his ways?" Sarah asked sarcastically, then apologised. "Sorry."

"No," Mary-Lynette smiled faintly. "I mean, the Soulmate connection isn't wrong. It matches us to the person that's perfect for us. Ash is…perfect for me. And Kierlan…you just haven't seen everything about him. I guess he's feeling a bit trapped at the moment. That sort of thing can bring out the worst…or best…in all of us."

That actually made sense to Sarah. "He does care for me," she said grudgingly, remembering how Kierlan had actually been there for her in her dream. "And I care for him."

"Things will become easier for you," Mary-Lynette assured her with a small smile. "And meanwhile, Ash will hang around and make sure no one makes off with your Soulmate. Or with you, for that matter."

"Me?" Sarah asked, startled.

Mary-Lynette winced. "Knew I'd put my foot in it, somewhere today," she muttered, then sighed. "Yes. You're his Soulmate. Hunter would think of that as a pretty good bargaining chip to get Kierlan to come to him. That's why you need to stay here."

Standing outside the doorway, Ash smiled slightly at Kierlan, who was smiling too, faintly, at what Sarah had just said. She cares for me…and she knows I care for her… but a lump formed in his throat too, at what Mary-Lynette had said. Please, goddess, he suddenly prayed fervently, don't let anyone harm her. Don't let me harm her.


	13. Save the World, Save a Heart

Chapter 13

"Did it help, talking to her?" Ash asked lazily, leaning against the wall as he gazed out of the window. He'd been silent all morning up until this point, waiting near-impatiently for Angelo to decide to finish his patrol through the woods. Mary Lynette had left in the early hours of morning.

"Yes," Sarah admitted, smiling faintly. "Your soulmate's cool, Ash."

He grinned. "Of course she is." He went and poured himself a drink. "I barely taste it," he said factually, putting the pineapple juice back in the fridge. "But it's not like I'd want to go back to that club more than I have to. They're too willing."

"Too willing?" Sarah asked indignantly. "So we have to be screaming and crying to rouse your appetite?"

Ash laughed softly. "Heck, no. That's not what I mean. It's just…those girls…they fawn so much, that they make me want Mary Lynette to put them straight. I just want a drink, and they want me to make out with them."

"Okay, that is a bit disturbing," Sarah said darkly. "I wonder if Blade ever got tempted."

"It shouldn't interest you any more, right?" Ash drawled. "Anyway, I doubt he ever got the problem. He knows the area far better than me: a country boy born and bred. He has good enough contacts to find decent blood donors. Whereas I am a city boy, and proud of it."

"So you don't like the countryside?" Sarah teased, watching him from the table.

"No!" Ash said fervently. "I hate it. It's boring. Back where I came from, you would find muggers in every alley. Here, the worst that can happen is that an old lady asks you for money for charity!"

"I don't mind it," Sarah said mildly.

Ash grinned. "But you don't feel bad drinking from a mugger."

"Please tell me you haven't been snacking on the elderly," Sarah groaned.

Ash shook his head, his eyes glinting diamond-blue for a moment. "Honest, I haven't." He sighed then. "I'm counting down the minutes until Damoran calls again, and says that he's finished. Then I'm back off to the city."

"Damoran?" Sarah asked, dismayed. "He's coming back?"

"Don't you like him?" Ash asked with a grin. "But he's a softie underneath the heart of ice."

"Maybe," she said sceptically.

Angelo came to the end of the garden and nodded at Ash, who immediately left. Angelo came back in, helping himself to the leftover breakfast laid out on the table for him. "How's it going with the new Soulmate?" he asked, his eyes crinkled at the corner with mirth.

"I think we've decided it's too dangerous," Sarah said wryly, recalling Kierlan's words.

"That was last night," Kierlan announced from the kitchen doorway. He was smiling serenely.

"Excuse me?" Astonished, Sarah stood up. "You've changed your mind?"

Triumphantly, Kierlan took his hands out from behind his back. Nestled in his palms was a diamond-blue heart.

She gasped: it writhed with magic: blue fire.

"Are you stupid?" Angelo asked harshly, his eyes trained in awe on the blue fire. "You're using it trivially, you stupid brat!"

"There's plenty of it," Kierlan said carelessly. "I can feel it inside, now."

But Sarah had to agree. "It's beautiful," she told him shakily. "It's beautiful, Kierlan. But…" she didn't want to hurt his feelings at all, suddenly. "I liked it better in the other colour," she said lamely.

He stared at her, astonished; then he burst out laughing and extinguished the blue fire and summoned a ball of paler blue, misty magic that formed a perfect heart. Then, smiling recklessly, he raised his hands to his lips and blew her a kiss. The magic sped at her and she raised her hands, laughing as the mist racing around her hands. For a brief second, she felt so, so happy, like she was reliving the best moment of her life, like she was in the big pet shop on the corner from her first home, and there was the big pen where puppies swarmed around her and she, little six year old Sarah, was laughing hilariously, trying to stroke every one of the six puppies, whose tails wagged crazily, yipping and licking her…

Gasping, she stared at Kierlan, shaking.

He leaned forward and kissed her, and in that brief moment, saw her happiest memory. And she saw his, because he'd been handling the mist magic too: giddily, she saw herself kissing Kierlan, felt his overwhelming passion. And at this moment, he kissed her back, hungrily, pressing her to him: she could hear his heart thudding light as butterfly wings.

"I love you," he whispered, gently running his fingertips down her cheek.

"I love you too," she whispered back blissfully.

"We have to talk," he murmured, and they looked around guiltily: they'd forgotten about Angelo. He'd gone anyway: they were alone in the kitchen.

"What is it?" she asked trustingly.

"Are you sure you want to be with me?" There. He'd said it. "I mean, even though I have to save the world…"

Her lips twitched, she fought to keep quiet then failed miserably as she burst out laughing. "It's the way you said it!" she gasped between bouts of laughter. "For goodness' sake! Who gets a boyfriend who's a hero? I'm happy about it, Kierlan!"

He began laughing too, amazed, then hugged her impulsively. "You are amazing," he whispered, at which she smiled impishly. "As long as I'm with you, Kierlan, I'm happy." And she meant every word she said. She suddenly wanted, more than anything, to be standing beside him when he'd take on the end of the world, with the other Wild Powers.


	14. Attack!

Chapter 14

That night, she wondered how long they had left, what would happen. The end of the world, she thought wonderingly, no longer afraid. She trusted Kierlan with all her heart, such a strange feeling!

Getting up, pushing her quilt aside, she padded to the window where moonlight slanted sneakily along the sill and down onto the floor, a puddle of white-gold light in the shadows. In the driveway, Damoran's car was parked there, an elegant automobile that didn't fit in here, in this rustic place. He'd arrived earlier in the evening and Ash had darted off like the hounds of hell were at his heel, for he missed the city life so dearly.

Suddenly, she felt wide awake. It was midnight; the house was perfectly silent. "Great," she muttered, flicked the bedside lamp on and grabbed a textbook to read. If that wouldn't send her to sleep, nothing would.

The clock clicked to 1AM before she knew it. She was still wide awake. The house was still deathly silent. The moonlight was cooler as it forced its way into her dark room. A cool, dew-laden breeze whistled through the window. With an annoyed sigh she got up and went to the window, reaching out to grab the window latch, to pull it back in…

There was another car in the driveway. She stiffened, automatically reaching out for her jeans and ducking back out of sight of the window as she hurriedly pulled on her t-shirt over her nightdress, tucking the nightdress into her jeans, stifling hot but never mind. She reached out for the light switch but…

There was a 'pffst' sound, and the light plunged off. At least the moonlight was still shining fiercely. Still, a shiver crept up her spine, as the music that had been like a throbbing beat through her room was utterly silent too. It wasn't the lightbulb that had gone. It was the electricity…

The phone, she thought simply. That means we're cut off. At least Rita and Susie have mobile phones. But still…

She went to the door and eased it open. As soon as she saw a bare inch of the hallway, she slammed the door back shut: she'd seen the front door push open, heard the slight crack of the lock being wrenched and knew the intruders were within the house. Damoran, she wondered startled, then thought of Kierlan, afraid.

There was a thin whistling sound that rushed through the house. She clapped her hands to her ears in sudden pain: it was as shrill as a bat and her door clattered: she lunged forward to pull it closed as she heard every other door within the house clatter open in the same way. A vampire's golden eyes glinted at her, it lunged at her and pulled her out into the hallway as she kicked, grabbed out at the banister for grip and kicked again as hard as possible.

"Harman!" the vampire sang out, amused. "We've got your girlfriend!"

"Sarah!" Kierlan screamed, darting out of his room, witch fire already forming in his hands. "Let go of her!" he demanded threateningly, his violet eyes dead serious and furious. "Right now!"

The vampire's nails tugged through her hair and she winced, tried to kick him again. Then he swung her out, dangling her above the top stair. Her throat went dry as her feet dangled and she could see how far she'd fall…

"Broken neck," the vampire said tauntingly. "Imagine it, Harman." He ran a long finger down Sarah's neck and she whimpered humiliatingly in fear.

"No!" Kierlan's voice came out half-strangled. The witchfire died in his hands. "Please, no," he pleaded.

"No!" Sarah forgot her own terror. "Kierlan!" her voice was physically strangled as she angled another kick at the vampire's knees. He shook her in annoyance and she clung to his hand instead, terrified of being thrown down the stairs.

"Hurry up!" a woman appeared at the foot of the stairs. Then suddenly…she wasn't there any more. She stood up on the top landing, facing Kierlan. "Hurry up, Barral," she snapped tersely. "I can't keep the two witches enchanted much longer. Get the Wild Power away. Now!"

"Don't hurt Sarah," Kierlan said warningly, his voice low. "And I'll go with you. Willingly. Just don't hurt her."

"Sounds good," the woman said approvingly and turned to Barral. "Deal with it," she said and turned to Kierlan, reached forward and grasped his wrists. His violet eyes gripped Sarah's gaze, filled with raw terror, but only for her, making her feel sick.

Then Barral let go of Sarah, flinging her out, down the stairs.

"Sarah!" Kierlan screamed in anguish and terror, just before he and the woman vanished.

Sarah screamed, and then there was a black shadow that whipped forward, caught her in his arms, rolling with her down the stairs, fiercely wrapped around her, shielding her from the impact.

"Kierlan!" Sarah shrieked, tearing free, then stared at her saviour. Blade.


	15. Saviour

Chapter 15

"Are you alright?" Blade asked as gently as when they'd been in love, setting her down on the floor again. She was too shaky to stand and had to lean against him, still staring up to the landing where Kierlan had been one second and gone the next.

"What are you doing here?" she asked finally, quivering in shock. "Why did you come back?"

"I was only in town," Blade said curtly. "I didn't go far away. I don't desert my job just because I let it get…too personal."

Too personal, Sarah thought, her eyes brimming with tears. "Where are the guards? Angelo? Damoran?"

"I don't know," Blade murmured, his eyes not meeting hers.

"Tell me what happened," she whispered. "Something else bad has happened, tell me!"

His shoulders slumped. "Damoran was staked," Blade admitted grimly, eyes sad as he remembered finding the nearly-mummified corpse, the bamboo stake protruding from his heart and the angry, frozen and hunted gaze of Damoran. "Found him in the forest, dropped where they'd staked him. Nothing I could do about it. Angelo called to warn me that trouble was in the air. I came as fast as I could. They got Harman?"

She could barely speak, too terrified, in shock. She felt bruised, shaky.

A door creaked open and Rita limped out into the hallway, her cheeks streaked with tears. "I tried to fight off her power," she said hoarsely. "I tried."

"So did I," Susie whispered, pale as she came out from her room and went to support her mother who suddenly seemed so frail. "We couldn't fight her, Blade. She was so strong…"

"I'll call Thierry," Blade said grimly, taking out his mobile phone.

"Already done it," Angelo said, limping into the kitchen, holding his left arm at an awkward angle. Rita slowly made her way to him as Susie stiffly took the first aid kit from the medical cupboard. "They got Kierlan," Angelo said. It wasn't a question.

"Or we'd all be dead by now," Blade said bitterly, helping Sarah to a chair. "Are you okay?"

She gazed at him, unable to speak.

"He'll be okay," Susie whispered, but her voice was dull with uncertainty and pain.

"Poor Damoran," Sarah said shakily though her mind was mostly on Kierlan.

"He was a few centuries old," Blade said comfortingly, his hand on Sarah's shoulders.

"You didn't get hurt?" Susie asked finally, an anxious light in her tired eyes as she took an energy drink from one of the cupboards, swigging it thirstily. "Goddess, mother," she said worriedly. "Who was that witch? She held us both back! Like…like toddlers from cookies!"

"I didn't recognise her," Rita said slowly, her eyes hard. "But I'll find out."

"What about Kierlan?" Sarah demanded and Blade looked sad. "It's out of our hands, Sarah. I'm sorry…you'll just have to trust Thierry and whoever he picks to rescue Kierlan."

Sarah made a small whimpering sound and looked down at the table. "So I just have to wait?" she said despairingly.

"It's not fair!" Susie burst out, stunning Sarah. "Poor Kierlan!"

"Don't even think of chasing after him," Rita told her daughter and Sarah quietly, absolutely no humour in her eyes. "If you even try, I shall bind you both and put you in the cellar."

With that, she got up and left the room. Sarah and Susie exchanged an identical look of miserable dismay.


	16. Escaping Allies

Chapter 16

"I hate this," Susie was muttering over and over again. She'd pummelled her pillow so much that Sarah was nervous: she'd never seen such Susie in such a wrathful state.

"Do you think he's okay?" Sarah burst out anxiously. "I mean, they haven't hurt him, have they?"

Susie looked at her, a long suffering look. "I think you'd know if he was hurt," she said, a hint of challenge in her voice. "If you're his Soulmate."

She's jealous, Sarah realised downheartedly. She still wants Kierlan.

Then she chastised herself. She's scared too.

"They'll get him back," Susie said quietly, shaking her head. "I hear two of the Wild Powers have volunteered to help. Because they're good at fighting."

"So not Iliana," Sarah quipped weakly.

"Jezebel Redfern and Delos Redfern," Susie confirmed. "You've been studying the Nightworld."

"Kierlan is my Soulmate," Sarah said quietly. "I'm sorry, Susie. I can't explain it. I loved Blade, but it wasn't…the same way. I love Kierlan. And…it was more than just love. It's a connection."

"Did you know that the probability of finding your Soulmate is only twenty percent?" Susie asked bleakly. "Sometimes it's fate, sometimes it's luck. Sometimes you just live your life, flitting between guys and never finding the right one. It's lonely, Sarah. And then…you find not just one perfect guy, but two. You get to pick and choose. Me? I get to study magic."

"You've been here all your life," Sarah replied, frowning. "I got lucky, that Kierlan was brought here. So I guess it was…fate. But sometimes it's not enough to have luck or fate. Sometimes you need to see more. We need to get out."

And slowly, a plan was forming in her mind.

"We need to meet more people," she said quietly, determinedly. "We'll find your Soulmate, Susie. He's out there, somewhere. We'll see all the world if we have to."

A strange light filled Susie's eyes. "I think I know what you're thinking, Sarah. You're thinking we'll find your Soulmate, too."

"Your cousins," Sarah said fiercely. "You've got them all over the place, Susie. They could help us. Many of them are in Circle Daybreak. We can stay with them and find out what Thierry's doing about Kierlan. I might be able to help, because of my…connection with Kierlan. And you have strong magic, could help. We could make the difference."

"Or we could ruin everything," Susie objected, an uncertain look in her eyes.

"It's either that or sit back and wait for everyone else to do everything," Sarah reminded her, an angry, defiant gleam in her eyes. Taken aback, Susie glanced for one brief second at the door as though ready to bolt from what Sarah seemed to have become.

Then Susie got out from beneath her covers and grabbed the bundle of clothes from the chair. "Fine," she said determinedly. "Just tell me where we're going."

Sarah smiled and got up too, quietly moving to get her clothes as her heart sang with gladness that they weren't sitting around any more.

And Blade stirred outside their room, where he sat at the top of the stairs, moving quietly to warn Rita.


	17. Mother Against Daughter

Chapter 17

A ball of moist herbs clenched in her hands, one of Susie's silence spells, Sarah climbed out of the window, dropping to the low roof above the kitchen. Susie was ahead of her, agilely tiptoeing across the thick iron drainpipe that went around the side of the house to the trellis where she climbed down past the tall garden gate into the driveway.

Sarah breathed a glad sigh when her feet touched the ground. Susie was walking silently across the driveway to the shed at the side where the bikes were kept. "Do we use the bike lamps?" she asked in a low voice.

"Not until we're out of sight of the house," Sarah said softly, glancing back at the dark house. Susie twisted the combination lock, the lock clicked open and she deftly ducked under the low doorway into the shed and wheeled out one of the mountain bikes. Sarah took it, carefully laying it on the floor, trying not to disturb as much of the crackly gravel as possible as Susie wheeled out the second bike, handing it to Sarah before ducking back out of the shed and locking the door again.

Then they looked back simultaneously at the house and began wheeling the bikes to the gate. Sarah winced as the gate squeaked open, loud enough to wake the dead. When she looked back at the house, two figures were standing in the open doorway of it, the lights were all still off, but she recognised Rita's tired, hunched shape and Blade's tall, hardened physique.

"Bother," Susie muttered uneasily, anticipating Rita's threat of being locked in the cellar and magically bound, to be carried out immediately.

"Where do you think you're going?" Rita's voice was severe.

"For a midnight stroll," Sarah said lightly.

"Go back into the house," Rita ordered, glaring at Sarah and ignoring Susie. "I'm disappointed in you, girls."

"No, mother," Susie said quietly, finally.

"What did you say?" Rita whispered, astonished, and turned to face her only daughter.

"We're going to help find Kierlan," Susie said clearly.

At that, Blade burst out laughing; a bitter laugh. "You two think you can take on the Nightworld? A little witch and a human!"

"So we should just sit back?" Sarah retorted, glaring at Blade. "How can you say that! When we were together, if I'd been kidnapped, would you have sat back and left it to Thierry and everyone else to rescue me?"

"That doesn't matter," Blade said levelly.

"It matters to me," Sarah replied.

"I absolutely will not allow you two to go goddess-knows-where, to try and fight Hunter Redfern and his vampires," Rita snapped, her eyes steely. "Neither of you! And that's that!"

With that, she made a twisting motion with her fingers. The air tightened around Sarah and Susie. Susie drew a sharp breath, and for a second the air was violet. Then Rita was standing, frozen.

"What did you do?" Blade demanded, angry.

"I used what I like to call the threefold law," Susie said levelly. "Except the way I see it. She'll wake up in half an hour. And me and Sarah will be gone. What about you?"

Blade was silent for a moment. Sarah was astonished at Susie. "How did you get more powerful?" she asked, amazed.

"I practised," Susie said coolly. "So?" She turned to Blade, a challenge in her tone. "What are you going to do?"

"Your mother was just trying to protect you," Blade said, frowning. "Why turn on her?"

"She's protected me for long enough," Susie said briefly.

"I'll come with you," Blade said finally, not looking at Sarah. "Just so you don't get yourselves killed."

With that, he went to his car, unlocked the doors. "Hurry up," he said irritably.


	18. Susie's Cousins

Chapter 18

"I've got cousins here," Susie explained. "I'd been planning to ask them what Kierlan's deal is, anyway." She didn't mention that it had been Blade suggesting it to her. "They'd probably give us a place to stay for the night too."

"Are they Daybreak?" Sarah asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes. She'd fallen asleep about an hour ago, it had been night when they'd begun travelling and now it was seven in the morning.

Susie waved her hand dismissively. "Sort of. They leave us to our own devices because they don't want to get involved. They'd rather not put their necks on the line."

"Though they do sell information to either side," Blade said coolly. "Such as the Harman and Redfern family trees. And any obscure prophecies. Many witches loathe them for it."

"They're the ones that brought up Sylvia," Susie said quietly. "She went on to help Delos's grandfather control a realm, that had human slaves. But she repented at the end."

Sarah shuddered at the thought of human slaves: she hated the thought of being a vampire's lunch, or worse, a shape-shifter's! It made her feel so lucky that she hadn't run into the wrong type of Nightworlders yet, nor had to do any of the work for Daybreak that involved going undercover. She'd heard there was a few human Daybreakers who did undercover work, such as investigating some of the most brutal Nightworld practises, such as when vampires tried to organise bloodfeasts. She was glad there hadn't been a bloodfeast for plenty of years…

The car swerved onto a hard shoulder.

"We walk from here," Susie explained, getting out of the car and swinging her duffel bag up onto her shoulder. Blade locked the car as Sarah loosened the strap on her own duffel bag, then Susie led the way into a weak forest of trees that bordered this empty stretch of road, the gravel and clods of dirt slipping and scrabbling beneath their trainers.

The ground was dappled with sunlight over the thick floor of vibrant autumn leaves. The forest was utterly silent and they walked silently too, Blade scowling, his eyes flicking around, Susie striding up the small hills of mud, her eyes blank of emotion. Sarah frowned slightly, unnerved by the silence, both of the forest and of her companions. It was daunting being here with the ex-boyfriend vampire who she'd betrayed and with the witch who was jealous of her. It was nerve-wracking to think about how she was walking to the home of Susie's cousins, who must be powerful witches if they were really able to cut deals with witches on the side of both Hunter Redfern and Daybreak. "They can surprise you," Susie warned, as she reached the peak of the forest.

She realised what Susie meant when she skidded to a halt.

"Little River Jolita," Susie said wryly. "I used to toddle in the shallows here, years ago."

Sarah was surprised that Susie hadn't been washed away and drowned in the Little River Jolita. How could they have not heard this crashing monster of waves and foam as they'd walked? Sticks lay scattered along the shore like broken bones, every few seconds, the river would spit out a mouthful of hard, fist-sized pebbles.

"It used to be a stream then, of course," Susie said idly, and began to walk downhill alongside the river. "Unfortunately, my cousins enjoy fiddling with nature. I hate to think what they've done to their family dog."

Then she pointed ahead. "The bridge is there."

The bridge would need to be as strong as the Golden Gate bridge, Sarah thought privately, unnerved by how the river roared, by how the piles of sticks crackled like kindling beneath her feet.

The bridge looked, of course, like it wouldn't stand the weight of a dog on it, let alone three humans.

"I'll go across first," Blade said coolly.

"It's a glamour," Susie said decisively, watching Blade walk tentatively across the wooden bridge. A shiver made its way down Sarah's spine at watching how nervous Blade was: his jaw was clenched tight and he turned his head at the slightest sound. She didn't blame him: he was walking across something made of the one thing that could cause his death: wood.

Maybe that's where the running water thing comes from, she thought, startled. Bridges used to be made only of wood. Maybe a vampire walked across a wooden bridge, it fell and caused a lot of fear to vampires. The thought made her frown then shake her head slightly.

Finally, Blade reached the other side safely. He nodded slightly at them, then turned and looked out across the ground on the other side of the bridge where he stood. Susie went across the bridge with more confidence, even as the wood creaked more loudly with her every step.

Then it was Sarah's turn. She walked quicker than them, aware that her human senses weren't as sharp as Susie's, and her reflexes weren't nearly as sharp as Blade's.

Each individual plank creaked and sank slightly beneath her feet. The water crashed and slashed at the bridge's supports and seeped up through long cracks in the bridge, darkening the wood. A distant memory seeped into her mind of wood turned black by the water eating at it.

Her foot sank into the mud-spattered grass on the other side of the bridge. Susie and Blade were too busy to have noticed Sarah's troubled nervousness: they were watching what lay ahead. Only when they'd stepped off the bridge had it slammed into focus; it was the same for Sarah.

Now a mansion lay ahead of them. Seven cars were sprawled outside it, all spattered with mud but otherwise clean. The most official car was a black stretch limo. The shabbiest was a navy blue land rover, out of which was stepping a tall girl, dressed in black. She looked out over the grounds towards Sarah, Blade and Susie; her eyes narrowed and she stood waiting outside the land rover.

"She's not one of my cousins," Susie said tensely and started walking through the field of mud. Blade followed with barely a glance at Sarah. Sarah breathed a guilty sigh and sped up her pace.

"What are you doing here?" the girl asked coldly as they drew nearer. She wasn't dressed for the brisk weather: the black jeans that hugged her curves were fine, but the red halter top was strappy and the cream wool coat she wore over it wasn't enough to keep out the cold. But she looked happy enough, a warm glow to her skin.

"I'd like to know the same of you," Susie said authoritatively.

"Business," the girl said coldly. "Now. Why are you here?"

"Visiting cousins," Susie said coldly, a look was in her eyes that suggested she'd love nothing more than to begin arguing with the girl. "And what type of business?"

"My boyfriend," the girl said, somewhat coyly and twisted a ringlet of her sweaty brown hair around her finger.

"That's what she'd like to believe," a boy called out across the driveway. He stood lazily at the front door. "She wants to be able to say she's done it with a true Harman."

"You are still as low as snakes," Susie said defiantly. "You have only grown worse, Laurence."

Laurence gave her an extravagant wink. "And you've only grown more icy-gorgeous, Cousin Suze."

"Dream on, Laurence," Susie sneered. "I'm not getting into bed with you."

"Not even a greeting kiss?" he teased but his violet eyes were serious.

Dismissively, Susie turned to Sarah. "He wears violet-tinted contact lenses, by the way. His eyes are really blue as cornflowers."

The girl who seemed to have been Laurence's date, was gaping. "Blue!" she exclaimed in disgust. "A blue-eyed Harman!"

"He's not officially a Harman," Susie informed her, eyes gleaming. "He changed his name by poll. Really? He's Laurence Brunel. Son of David Brunel and Victoria Leesa. Some very distant cousin of mine."

The girl's eyes narrowed to slits, she stepped forward and slapped Laurence across the face.

Wincing, he gingerly touched his cheek. "Hey, I bought you drinks, remember?"

"He probably slipped some ylang-ylang and ground-up malachite into it," Susie said brightly.

The girl slapped Laurence again, got into the land rover and revved up the engine. As the land rover roared out of the driveway, mud splashed up from its wheels and Laurence only just dodged in time.

"You've ruined my morning," Laurence told Susie flatly. "Now what do you want?"


	19. Kierlan's Secret

Chapter 19

Laurence led them to the library within the mansion. It was a sunny room filled with pots of herbs that scented the room. There were dozens of bookshelves and a few leather couches and two large, heavy wooden desks, one with a computer on it, quite a new model.

A guy lazily reclined on one of the maroon leather couches, raising his head to gaze at Sarah and Susie, and raise an eyebrow at Blade. "Two for the price of one?" he asked glibly.

"You wish," Susie tossed her hair. "Cousin Jack. Now he's a real Harman. Jack Harman. Didn't even have to change his name. But he got disowned by the family, sadly. Carried out a forbidden love charm on a girl engaged to another man. Thrown out of the family like a mongrel."

Jack Harman raised an eyebrow. "Learn your facts," he said simply, then picked up a book at his feet, opened it to a bookmarked page and resumed reclining and reading.

"I'd like to see the family tree map," Susie told Laurence; he shrugged. "Can't remember where it is."

Susie gave an exasperated sigh, leaned forward and gave him a brusque kiss on the lips. "Now do you remember?"

"Of course," he gave her a vibrant smile. "You're a blast of sunshine to my fogged brain, Cousin Susie."

"Last time I do that," Susie said darkly and Laurence led the way to one of the shelves, pulled out a handful of books, tossed them to the floor. Cousin Jack rolled his eyes. "Can't you pile them up neatly?" he demanded. "It took me ages to track those books down!"

Laurence ignored him, sliding open a secret panel behind the books, and pulled out a leather wallet. Kneeling on the floor, he took some large old scrolls from the leather wallet and spread them open. "One comprehensive guide to the Harmans," he said. "And one guide to the wonderful Redferns."

"And here's Kierlan," Susie said swiftly, pointing out one name at one end of the scroll. "And there's me." Her name was at the other end of the scroll. She frowned slightly, looked back at Kierlan's name, then picked up the Redfern scroll. "How absurd," she said, amazed. "His name's on both, not just the Harmans."

"He doesn't show any vampire blood," Blade said flatly. "That, I can tell you."

"It's his mother," Susie said softly, "she's a Redfern. That's why."

"But it's genetic, being a lamia…" Blade's voice trailed off.

"Made," Susie said flatly. "Kierlan's mother was made into a vampire. After Kierlan was born."

"That's right," Laurence said with a shrug. "Quite a scandal at the time. She was a Harman, upstanding, got into a feud with one of the Redferns, and they made her into a vampire. When Kierlan was four. He spent the rest of his life being foisted around witch families."

"And what happened to his mother?" Sarah asked quietly.

"Went mad for a while, tried to get her son back, and then gave up bitterly and joined the Nightworld side," Laurence replied. "Tale has it that she has vampire lovers aplenty and is quite vicious and bloodthirsty. Almost attacked her own son when she woke up for the first time. Witches had to pull her away, lock her up and they were so disgusted, they handed her to Hunter and his vampires and took Kierlan's custody as an emergency measure."


	20. The Treasure Hunter

Chapter 20

Sarah's room for the night was one of the oddest she'd ever seen. There were no curtains at the window, the walls were honey-wood in colour, the bed was almost just a box-shaped piece of wood topped with a thick mattress and quilt, low enough not to even reach the windowsill, which was wide enough to sit upon and revealing an ugly view of the bleak moors and swamps, the river not even visible through a fringe of black trees.

As well as that, there was absolutely no furniture apart from the bed, except for a strange, tall bookcase that was perfectly out of place in this plain room. A pair of black-brown, furry bats crooned sleepily from the corner of the ceiling, hanging upside down from the ceiling which appeared to be rough wood, perhaps deliberately rough enough to let the bats have good enough grip to stay there and not fall.

Certainly, a bookcase wouldn't be unusual. But it had absolutely no books in it: when she pushed lightly at it, she could easily tell that it was far too heavy a type of wood to be moved by one human, or even two vampires. So, she presumed, it must be a trap-door sort of bookcase. She'd seen bookcases hiding secret passageways, but it was stupid in her view to leave the thing so empty and obvious and she'd not put any of her own stuff in it, because she was keeping her bag as fully packed as possible, ready to leave at very short notice.

At least the bed was comfortable. Her tired mind stressed over Kierlan and his mother and Hunter Redfern for one moment before her eyes fluttered shut and awarded her worries with a dream scented with violet; Kierlan smiled gently at her though his eyes were worried. He kept silent, as though determined to say nothing of where he was or how he was. She kept trying to speak but her voice was silent and her words non-existent, desperation creeping into her eyes as she pleaded with her hands to him to let her speak. He shook his head and she woke up.

Sitting up bolt-straight in the bed, she blinked painfully and could tell why there were no curtains at the window: moonlight poured like a waterfall of molten gold through the glass. It was raw and beautiful, a magic in itself like being loved by the goddess and when she rested her hand in the depths of its gold, it was warm like sunlight.

"You look like a young goddess," Laurence said humorously, "with the moonlight in your hair and shining down your cheek. Like a Greek goddess, dedicated to a melancholy, lonely devotion. Love."

"Love isn't lonely," Sarah answered.

"It is, when I look at you," Laurence said with an element of charm.

"I'm claimed," Sarah replied stiffly. "Please don't flirt with me."

"I'd only stop short of flirting if the young lady has their Soulmate," Laurence said humorously.

"My Soulmate is Kierlan Harman," Sarah replied boldly, eyes gleaming with sadness.

"Then what shall happen if Hunter kills him? Or worse, his mother? What if she should turn Kierlan into a vampire?" Laurence queried, his own eyes sharp and bright in the moonlight. "Will you turn away from him if he becomes a vampire and seems changed from who he was?"

"I doubt it," Sarah answered. "It's not as simple as that. I can't just stop loving him."

"Oh, the Soulmate connection," Laurence said dismissively, his hand making a sweeping gesture.

"Please can you leave me alone or change the subject?" Sarah demanded, annoyed.

"I'll change the subject then," Laurence said comfortably. "How can you hang around with that horrible, malicious little Susannah?"

"Susie is perfectly fine," Sarah scowled. "You just have a problem with how she doesn't want to make out with you. You're a sexist, needy little brat!"

He smiled and stuck out his hand, grasping hers and shook it firmly. "How wonderful. We shall be great friends, Sarah! Many a wonderful conversation could we have. Shall we go to the library?"

He didn't wait for her answer, pulling her up by the hand and going to the empty bookcase. He didn't push it aside. Instead he walked through it. The air shimmered with illusion and he firmly told her to follow: it wouldn't hurt. Fascinated, she followed: she'd never seen an illusion that thorough: she'd never even thought of touching it…a repulsion spell? She wondered. A spell to stop someone wanting to investigate it further. Cool.

The illusion held a dark corridor, lights flicking on as Laurence walked. The lights were modern desk lamp-style lights, bright and glaring though they left plenty of shadows.

Above them, the corridor teemed with more black bats that chattered sleepily and excitedly as the two walked down the corridor, Laurence's path brisk and purposeful, Sarah's uncertain and curious.

Finally the journey ended. Laurence passed through what looked like a wall; she followed and then they were back in the library. Jack was there, still lounging on one of the maroon couches though not bothering to hide that he wasn't reading, was just gazing into space. Then his green eyes snapped into focus and looked over at Sarah. "Hello."


	21. The Gang

Chapter 21

"Hi," she replied, eyes narrowing as her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the library. "You'll go blind if you try reading in this bad a light," she commented.

"Good thing I don't read then," Jack retorted. "What I do is far better than that. I venture for treasures. I'm a treasure seeker of the highest order. I do not answer to your Circle Daybreak nor to Hunter's Nightworld Council."

"A treasure seeker?" she asked, eyes widening with fascination. She'd never heard of anything like that.

"And Kierlan is a treasure," Laurence said bluntly, turning from the large library door. He demonstrated how the door was locked by twisting the door handle. "A Blue Fire. And you're his Soulmate. Aren't you?"

"And what if I am?" Sarah demanded warily.

"Then we invite you to stay here," Jack offered, eyes gleaming. "You and Kierlan."

"You seek treasures," Sarah said sceptically. "And then what do you do with them?"

Laurence shrugged. "We don't sell them. You wouldn't be a slave. You'd just have to join our…club. If we can call it that."

"How many other people have you…collected?" Sarah asked shrewdly.

"Not many," Laurence said patiently. "Not any Blue Fires, and we didn't bother to invite them. But we collect…oddities. Quite a few of them are related to us Harmans and Redferns. We all hang together and find out more about whatever we like. We've dug up quite a few of the most dangerous spells. Forgotten just because they're so deadly."

"And where are these…club members?" Sarah asked, intrigued.

Jack shrugged. "Wherever they want to be. It's not like we keep them prisoner. We just keep an eye on them, it's our part of the pact. Protect each other. We're not into the Nightworld stuff, mostly. Just the magic and the nature. And the fun."

Laurence was nodding in agreement. "Rosamond, Angelica, Rex, Brooke, Ant, Roseclear and Kelly. Nine so far. Plus you and Kierlan would make it eleven."

"You do realise I'm just human?" Sarah asked sceptically. "I don't have any powers or anything."

Laurence shrugged. "You're Kierlan's Soulmate. It's not like that's nothing. The Soulmate power's pretty cool. We've been investigating it for a while, but we haven't ever had any way to test it."

She was thinking about this offer. "And if Kierlan and I…consented," she said slowly, "would that mean you'd help me rescue him and protect him?"

"More than that," Jack agreed enthusiastically. "We'd rescue him, protect him in any way necessary, even give him a new identity if he wanted it. Same for you. Think about that, Sarah. A chance for a new life. New friends. You'd both be safe."

And cut old ties, she supposed, with sadness for Susie. Still, she'd already chosen. She looked Jack in the eyes. "If it protects Kierlan, I will do anything," she said firmly.

"Wonderful," Jack beamed, swung off the couch and went to grab his coat. "Then we'd best go get him before Hunter executes him. And for that, we shall need some help."

Laurence raised an eyebrow. "I'm staying," he informed them with a yawn. "And I'm sure Angelica and Rosamond shall want to do the same. The others—"

"Shall be there, every step of the way," a boy said smoothly from behind them.

"Rex," Laurence said, as the boy moved into view, his short, spiky black-gold hair gleaming in the light, as did his green-gold eyes. He was tall, lithe, his shoulders proudly straight as he gracefully ducked the ledge of the illusion doorway. With a careless hand, he swiped the hank of gold-black hair from his eyes and gazed, eerily focused, at Sarah. "Hi, Sarah Strange."

"So we finally see you," another girl said in a bemused way as she followed Rex from the illusion doorway.

"Brooke," Laurence said warmly.

Brooke's hair was a cascade of blood-red curls down her back. She wore a perfectly-fitting gold top and violet jeans and neat blue-violet slippers. In her hand a gold ribbon dangled carelessly until she began the earnest work of pulling her hair back and tying it tightly, the gold ribbon shimmering. Sarah knew why Laurence liked her: the girl had the air of someone in control, determined and impossible to dislike.

"And Kelly," Laurence said softly.

Kelly. His complexion was pure Spanish, his black eyes gleamed with arrogance, and his hair was untidy, untrimmed black curls. He was only a head shorter than Rex. He wore black turtleneck and black jeans and was nearly invisible in the shadows, with a wildcat grace as he watched Sarah with his arrogant, dismissive look.

"Roseclear says she wishes to come," Kelly said in a soft, lilting accent. "And thus, I'm sure we shall have Anthony with us."

Laurence's shoulders moved with a sudden shudder. "Shall we keep Sarah with us here? Out of the way of the fighting?"

Kelly looked at Laurence like the male witch was insane. "We'll use her to track Kierlan. So of course she must come."

Laurence turned on his heel and left the library. A girl sighed from the illusion doorway. "So melodramatic," she commented. "So scaredy," a boy murmured in agreement.

"Roseclear and Anthony," Kelly supplied for Sarah's benefit.

Roseclear smiled at Sarah. At her lips gleamed perfect white vampiric fangs. Her lips were ripe red: she'd fed not long ago. She ran a tongue over her fangs, then a second later she looked only like a perfect human being, dressed in sweet pale blue jeans and a pale pink, medieval sleeved top that showed her slender figure well. Her companion, Anthony, had strange eyes: first they were blue, then green, then purple, then gray, then back to blue. Like Ash's eyes, Sarah realised, but Anthony's eyes bore a deep wilderness, making her feel suddenly like she was trapped in the River that beat only a quarter of a mile away from the mansion.

With a deep shudder, she wrenched herself free of Anthony's gaze: his lips had gained a curve of amusement as though he could taste how fast her heart beat, with fear. He wasn't a witch, she was sure. Not a vampire. He didn't seem like a shapeshifter…she gave up, refusing to believe it.

"Come along," Roseclear said playfully. "We haven't got all century."


	22. Mystical Hacking

Chapter 22

It seemed that Jack's hunger for treasures and knowledge meant that he'd known all along where Kierlan or at least Hunter might be.

"He's a businessman," Kelly said coolly, as Jack's car, a black, streamlined Porsche, purred down the motorway. "He gets the biggest deals. Otherwise I'd never have been interested in joining this geeky little band."

Roseclear was in the front seat, sitting on Anthony's lap. She was like a kitten, and looked like she might purr at any second, blissfully dozing in Anthony's arms. Anthony looked smug and peaceful because of that.

"So we go in, beat a few brains, drag Kierlan out and then throw a party," Brooke drawled, buttoning up her jacket over her jumper and straightening her necklace, then pulling her jeans more snug. "Now, turn and face me, sweetie."

Sarah obeyed warily. Already, Brooke's bright red witchlight illuminated the backseat as the witch playfully rolled a handful of round pieces of black-green malachite between her fingers.

"We're working on theory," Jack explained, not turning to face Sarah. "And we can't be bothered to waste time, so we'll try this out on you."

"So you're going to take a nap," Brooke said smoothly. "And then we'll…hack into your Soulmate connection. How exciting, eh!"

Ye gods, Sarah thought fearfully, but obeyed and lay back as Brooke gently pressed her fingertips to Sarah's temples. The girls closed their eyes and Sarah thought about the place she and Kierlan shared. It made her nervous and narked, the thought of sharing it with someone else. It was an invasion of privacy. But Kierlan's life was at stake.

"Don't you have a clue how to meditate?" Brooke asked Sarah, neither of them opening their eyes.

"I'm a human," Sarah retorted. "I'm not expected to."

"That sounds like something Mary Burnett would say in Secret Garden," Brooke drawled in disgust. "I'm not expected to!" She said in a mimicking tone then turned serious. "Just meditate, dammit!"

It was there in her tone: if Sarah didn't meditate, Brooke would strangle her.

She tried a mantra, repeating Kierlan's name over and over in her head. It actually worked. Kierlan, Kierlan, Kierlan… the only noise that lay underneath her chant was the motorcar's engine purring.

Kierlan, Kierlan, Kierlan, Kierlan, it was becoming a natural word inside her head as the black light behind her closed eyelids swirled and flared, first red, then purple, too royal a purple, then paling, to violet…excitement flared in her at the familiar warmth of the violet as it gathered around her like a warm cloud.

"Good girl," she distantly heard Brooke say in an approving voice, as a tendril of bright red sneaked in amongst the violet. She felt a tinge of Brooke's own excitement and jealousy, like something impossible to ignore. "Now trace that feeling. Kierlan's like half of you. The Soulmate connection is never a half: it's a whole. So Kierlan's end of the connection is here."

Obediently, Sarah searched gently through the mist. The scent of violets was heady and the mist was like tendrils. "Kierlan?" she asked softly, wonderingly.

There. He was here too. He'd recoiled; he was afraid. And he definitely didn't like Brooke being here.

"She's here to help," Sarah called.

Finally Kierlan was audacious enough to appear. "She's a witch," he retorted. "I wanted you to stay away from this. Not to get hurt. Go home, Sarah!"

"Come on, let's go," Brooke said brusquely, and grabbed Sarah's arm. "I've got enough."

"We'll get you out," Sarah told Kierlan, a hint of desperation in her voice.

"No!" he snapped urgently. "They've got three dragons, Sarah! Go! Do not come near!"

"Three!" Brooke whispered, eyes widening as the girls snapped awake, back in the black Porsche on the motorway. "How'd it go?" Jack demanded, business-like as usual.

"Kierlan's in a cave below one of Hunter's mansions," Brooke reported. "And he's said there's three dragons."

"Three," Anthony said sleepily, his voice a monotone. "Roseclear. We need another two."

"No," Jack said sharply. "We'll make do. I'll call in to Circle Daybreak and we'll grab Kierlan in the chaos that ensues."

Sarah saw Anthony smile very slightly, very slight relief in his keen bright colour-shifting eyes as he held Roseclear who'd yawned, showing her vampire fangs again. "Really, Jack? It's easy enough. There are four dragons sleeping very near here."

Jack shook his head. "It costs far too much to locate the ingredients. I had to go to China for the last few herbs. Daybreak nearly noticed it and I nearly got caught!"

Roseclear pouted then shrugged. "Fine. Anthony shall have to do."

Anthony didn't seem too unhappy with that.


	23. Witchy Susie

Chapter 23

"Turn your damn phone off," Brooke kept saying in annoyance as she shook Sarah awake. Sarah mumbled a swear word back at her before fumbling her hand into her pocket. "I didn't leave the thing on," she muttered.

"Susie's a trickster with technology," Jack said irritably. "She once hacked into my email just because she was in a temper. She only had to look at my computer screen and it completely opened every email account I've had within the last five years. So it must be her."

Amazed, Sarah finally located her phone that trilled harder and higher until she put it to her ear.

"Where the hell are you?" Susie was demanding. "Blade looks ready to deck Laurence. Where have they taken you? Sarah!"

"I'm okay," Sarah said hastily.

"That's not the point!" Susie yelled, her voice breaking. "We're best friends, Sarah! I should be there with you, not stuck in a mansion with an angry vampire and a pissed-off cousin! I thought you'd promised I'd be here with you!"

"Tell her we're going to Hunter's seaside resort," Jack interrupted, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. "She'll know what I mean."

Reluctantly, Sarah repeated this to Susie.

"I'll be there in one hour," Susie cut her off and the phone turned off completely.

"She'd never told me she could fiddle machinery," Sarah said, amazed.

"She's a clever little girl," Brooke said dryly. "She used to levitate her toys, according to her mom. So a game of Airplane was kinda literal. Especially when she learnt about airplane crashes. Gave me nightmares, that kid. Luckily she got a healthy obsession with makeup."

"So Blade's going nuts?" Jack said with a laugh. "That vampire cracks me up sometimes, I swear."

"She looks quite nice to me," Kelly said thoughtfully. "A bit insane, but that's fine enough."

Sarah gave him a sly look but said nothing, thinking about Susie. "So what's Anthony's deal?" she asked finally.

"He's Roseclear's Christmas present," Brooke said sarcastically, settling back comfortably. "So, Jack, do you think Susie will tell Daybreak where we're going?"

"She's predictable," Jack answered. "She'll tell them just so she'll get their help. So if we wait a few minutes somewhere out of the way, they'll make a big mess and we can slip in easy enough."

"There," Roseclear pointed ahead at something around the next corner of the road, thickly hidden by black, twisted trees. "There's a travel pub there, Jack. Can we have something to eat? Anthony's probably hungry."

The way she said it was like Anthony was her pet and couldn't speak up for himself.

Obediently, Jack followed the road around and true to Roseclear's statement, a pub was there, its parking lot empty and its windows shuttered though yellow light seeped through cracks in the wooden shutters. Kelly went ahead of them, turning his head at every noise and Sarah turned her attention to some other thought. So Jack was a witch, Roseclear was a vampire, Brooke was a witch. Was Kelly a shapeshifter? And she had a nervous theory about Anthony and Roseclear's relationship. She'd heard an account from the famous shapeshifter, Raksha Keller, about the dragon she'd fought. That it had looked like a handsome male for a while. Was Anthony a dragon? And was Roseclear the one holding his 'leash'?

"You have a lot of questions," Roseclear said, turning her head to look at Sarah. The look on her face was almost a glare, but softened by curiosity, almost like a little girl. Her eyes shone a strange cold violet in the late morning coldness.

Sarah nodded. "Is Anthony a dragon, Roseclear?"

Jack burst into laughter. "What a direct little thing you are!"

"Is he?" Sarah insisted.

"Of course," Roseclear said comfortably. "Why?"

"And you…woke him up?" Sarah continued, hazarding a guess. "Didn't you?"

Roseclear frowned. "Now that I'm not telling you. A girl must have her own secrets. That's what my mother always said." Her lips thinned in something near a grimace. "Of course, mother's dead."

With that, Roseclear looked around, her eyes gleaming a feral violet. Her gaze stopped on the human youth who was working at the bar, slowly wiping the wooden surface with a cloth. "I'm going to get myself some dinner," Roseclear murmured, running her tongue over her vampiric fangs. Jack rolled his eyes and they all watched her get up and go to the youth, smiling at him sweetly. "Is there a phone?"

"In the corridor behind the bar," the human replied, his voice a note higher than if he'd been talking to anyone else.

Roseclear gazed at the corridor. "It's very dark," she pointed out softly. "I don't like the dark." Within a few minutes, the boy was escorting her off into the corridor.

"Got Redfern blood in her," Brooke murmured with a grimace. "She's bloody sadistic sometimes."

"So are witches, sometimes," Kelly pointed out with a smirk.

"And so are shapeshifters," Jack said firmly. From there it went into a debate of which thing was most savage.

"Shapeshifters rip their food apart," Brooke said fervently. "At least vampires only sip. And witches don't even use humans in that way."

"But witches use human body parts to cast spells on us all," Kelly argued. "Human ears, eyes, brains, toes, fingers…at least we eat because it's the food we need. You lot just use it to work your mojo on whoever annoys you."

"Witches are benevolent," Brooke said angrily. "Most of us anyway," Jack murmured, eyes distant.

"Anyway," Kelly continued smugly. "Vampires and witches mess their victims up mentally. At least shapeshifters keep it pretty business-like. They just tear the people apart, eat the flesh and all that. That's nice compared to the way witches and vampires fool humans, twist their desires and fears, take away memories…do I need to go on? Heck, sometimes we don't even need to eat humans!"

With that, Roseclear came back into the room, licking her lips as her fangs shrank and she looked like a normal girl again. "We ought to go now," she said firmly.


	24. The Human and the Werewolf

Chapter 24

"Hunter established this as a home some time in the Gold Rush," Jack told Sarah as Brooke took a turn driving. He relaxed in the back seat as Kelly consulted a map. "He occasionally held parties here. Many say they were bloodfeasts. He also kept a few favourite humans as servants and blood supply. But after the Gold Rush ended, he got bored and went off, back across Europe, turning a few vampires and letting them live in this mansion just while they adjusted to the change. Nice, eh?"

Sarah didn't say anything.

"It's quite a gothic place," Jack continued. "Protected by high cliffs and ocean on three sides and flat-out rocklands on the other side. There are hundreds of tunnels penetrating the castles, plus a few half-finished tunnels that were apparently made by humans trying to escape. Some say those tunnels are now like a graveyard where they stuff corpses."

"Gothic castle around the next corner," Roseclear grinned, reclining in the backseat, pressed more than modestly close to Anthony. She was right like Sarah had known the vampire would be. It rose up and Sarah swallowed a disbelieving laugh. "That looks like a film set castle. Like Dracula should come flying out any second!"

The insulted look on Roseclear's face reminded Sarah how she shouldn't really mention pop culture references of anything to do with the phoney mythological things. Blade had been like that…in fact, she hadn't thought about Blade in a while. He might be there already, she realised with a sickened pang. What if he's searching for me? Thinks I've been hurt or something horrible? A chill crept up her spine at that: what have I done?

The castle had turrets as sharp as stakes and knives. The cliffs were sharp, jagged lines and the waves crashed higher and higher, feverish as though ravenously attracted to the thought of devouring the castle. Roseclear raised her face to the sky, and a breeze lightly, teasingly toyed with a strand of her dark hair. "Someone's been bleeding," she said in a voice perfectly suited for a psychopath thriller, a childish, macabre voice.

"Human or Nightworlder?" Jack demanded.

"Werewolf," Roseclear replied with a smile. "See? There's his fur." She pointed it out to them: a clump of sticky, coarse black wolf-hair. "He was chasing something and then it turned and bit him back."

"What bit him back?" Jack asked patiently as though used to playing Roseclear's games.

"A human," Roseclear said with a sweet smile as Sarah slowly walked forwards, skirting the blood-soaked fur. There was a shadow behind a clump of granite, shadowed by the gothic castle.

"Well that's great," Jack said in disgust. "It could have just been one of the servants trying to escape then."

Sarah cleared her throat as she came to a halt by the granite. "Does a human have a sword?" she asked softly, sadly and pointed at the fighter who was curled up. Immediately Jack reached down and touched the fighter's neck. It was hard to tell from all the blood whether the fighter was a girl or boy, just that they were young, perhaps nineteen or twenty years old. But the clothes were vaguely more masculine.

"He's alive," Jack said grimly and turned to Kelly who raised his hands warningly. "No, I'm not a nurse—"

"Put him in the car backseat," Jack ordered. "Please!"

"Please?" Sarah echoed and Kelly rolled his eyes. "Oh fine," he drawled and picked the youth up, carrying him back to the car and gently dropping him onto the leather. "You're never gonna get the blood off the leather," Kelly told Jack disgustedly.


	25. Traitors

Chapter 25

The boy was half-conscious as Jack drove the car closer to the castle, the engine softly thrumming. They'd all become quieter in preparation of what lay ahead. Even the buoyant treasure-hunter Jack seemed unnerved.

"How're you feeling?" Sarah asked the fighter-boy softly. His eyes were dazed, unfixed but a lovely hazel colour with short, blunt eyelashes and large, serious darker brown eyebrows. His nose looked like it had been broken, otherwise would have been delicate and nearly too pretty to be masculine. His lips were swollen with bruising and cold but had the crimson flush that would severely tempt a girl to kiss them. His chin was jutted with instinctive determination. Cuts ran down his arms and chest, tapering to scratches, his tanned skin mottled with bruising. His breathing was a whistle through broken ribs.

"I feel like a pack of wolves has been chewing on me," the boy said hoarsely. "Did they? Chew on me?"

"And spat you out," Kelly said with a nasty cheerfulness.

The boy laughed, his voice a rough rasp and closed his brown eyes again. "How near to the castle are we?"

"As close as I can get," Jack answered as the car slowed. "Is Daybreak still in there, boy?"

"Tom," the boy said hoarsely. "I'm Tom. And…why do you care about Daybreak? I recognise you from somewhere." He was talking to Jack.

"Jack Harman," he said cheerfully. "Daybreak's secret info-feeder. Treasure-hunter extraordinaire."

"Traitor!" Tom spat, eyes opening wide. He turned his head slowly and painfully to look at Jack's companions: at Roseclear, Kelly and Brooke. His gaze stopped on Sarah. "Don't let him do whatever he plans," Tom whispered furiously at her, his breathing shallow and fast, his skin flushed. "He does everything for personal gain."

"I sold the prophecies to Daybreak, didn't I?" Jack asked cheerfully and the car sped up slightly, bouncing over the rocky ground.

"But you'd have sold them to Hunter if he'd paid the higher price!" Tom growled, eyes filling up with hatred.

Jack nodded amiably. "I am a businessman," he admitted guilelessly.

"We're getting Kierlan out," Sarah said softly to Tom. "That's all."

"And why should Jack Harman want a Wild Power!" Tom spat bitterly. "So he can sell Kierlan to the higher paying side!"

Jack rolled his eyes and turned his head at Sarah. "Just ignore him."

Then Roseclear lunged out from the backseat, pushing the steering wheel: far stronger than Jack for she had vampire strength. Jack yelled, trying to push her away as the car screeched and skewed sideways. Tom grabbed Sarah, pulling her against him to shield her from hitting her head on the car window.

A gleam in her violet-blue, icy eyes, Roseclear backhanded Jack who gritted his teeth and slapped her away. "Are you mad!" he yelled, violet fire lancing from his fingertips. Roseclear just laughed: Anthony fixed a glare on Jack and the treasure hunter froze in more than terror as though he was being electrocuted, his violet fire dying on his palms. "Sarah Strange," Roseclear said calmly, her eyes on her distant Harman cousin. "Get out of the car. We're walking."

"Leave her alone," Tom countered hotly, eyes flashing almost black.

"It's okay," Sarah whispered, a tremble in her voice as she got up: she was scared of Anthony. She got out of the car and stepped onto the ground, rocks digging into the soles of her shoes. Tom got up and got out of the car on the other side, his jaw clenching as he struggled against pain to stand up straight, shivering from his wounds.

Roseclear had got out now, too. Anthony's lips were curved and thin in a nasty smile at Jack, who couldn't move, even to do a counter-spell against Anthony's dragon magic.

"Now come along," Roseclear said in a singsong voice.


	26. Tom's Got a Secret

Chapter 26

Sometime during the walk to the castle, Tom wrapped his arm around Sarah's shoulders. "It'll be okay," he said softly.

"I know," she whispered, feeling strangely calm the nearer she felt to Kierlan.

"And how did you get tangled up in the Nightworld?" Tom asked quietly, for the walk was long and once you'd seen one pebble of the rocky lands, you'd seen them all, in Tom's opinion.

"I live with two witches," Sarah replied. "Why are you involved with the Nightworld?"

He shrugged light-heartedly. "I go to college with two vampires. It was all a bit of fun until Hunter came along, told them to go with him. Ian refused and ended up dead. So me and Simon took the Nightworld a bit more seriously." He glanced up at the castle. "Simon's fighting up there. He's always wanted revenge for Ian's death. And Ian was a good friend to me too. He didn't deserve to be murdered."

"Was Ian lamia?" Sarah asked awkwardly.

Tom shook his head. "He was turned into a vampire by some idiotic uncle of Simon's. That's why Simon kept Ian company, out of guilt and then loyalty. Simon's family paid for the two of them to go to college. I met them there. But one night…Ian had a problem, didn't feed regularly enough one time. Simon, out of desperation, revealed the truth to me and asked me to help. To give some blood."

Sarah shuddered. "I could never let a vampire feed on me."

"It isn't so bad," Tom shook his head. "I haven't done it too often, but I do what's necessary. And what's it like, living with two witches?"

Sarah gave a startled smile, realising what he was getting at. "Maybe I haven't got the most ideal housemates either," she conceded. "But they are nice."

"So you're Sarah. Sarah…?"

"Strange," Sarah gave him a rueful smile. "Irony, huh?"

He laughed softly, his arm warm around her shoulders and giving her a pleasant feeling. "Yes. Very ironic, Sarah Strange. So, you live with two witches. How does that lead you to being here with the homicidal descendant of both the Harman and Redfern clan?"

"And the dragon," she said softly, barely moving her lips.

He went white. "What?"

"Anthony's a dragon," she said just as softly as before, nervous.

He swore, his breathing not as calm until he took a deep breath. "Okay. I'll pretend I have a plan and am perfectly aware that everything will be fine…Even if there is something near me that can use my head as a tennis ball…"

"My Soulmate's in Hunter's mansion," she said to take his mind off it. "Kierlan Harman. Do you know if they've found him yet? If they've rescued him? He's why I fell in with Jack Harman's crowd. He said he'd rescue Kierlan and keep us safe."

Tom looked world-weary and nervous at the same time. "Sorry to say this, but Jack's a treacherous little leech most of the time. If you haven't got the idea by now."

She nodded wearily. "Just my luck for Susie's cousins to be so damned homicidal…" It occurred to her then. "What about Susie?" she asked anxiously. "Is she okay? Susie Lewis."

He raised an eyebrow and uttered a short, sharp whistle. "No need to worry about her. She was the one pinning a vampire to the ceiling with nothing but the power of her thought. You know the saying: Never piss off a witch. I didn't. Not until today."

Sarah burst out laughing, thankful. "I'm afraid she's pissed off with me."

Then she thought of something, turned her head to look at him. "Why were you outside the castle and so far from it?"

He winced and was silent for a moment. "There was the werewolf," he said finally. "I know he followed me out. I thought I was a dead man until I found Simon's birthday present to me, from last year. A lovely miniature cross-bow and a bag of silver-tipped arrows."

"So you shot the werewolf," she summarised, "once he'd ripped you apart."

"Oh no, no," he grinned, mischievous humour glinting in his brown eyes. "First I screamed like a ninny, clubbed him over the head with my bag, then the crossbow fell out and went off, its arrow hitting the werewolf in the chest. Then I fainted in my victory. The bruises came from falling down, otherwise I'd be worried that I might sprout fur at the next full moon."

She laughed again.

"What a lovely story," Roseclear commented as they reached the outside of the mansion. There was a gaping tunnel entrance ahead of them.

"The mud's a bit wet," Roseclear said apologetically. "But I'm sure you won't make a fuss about it. Right, kids?"

With that, the vampire-witch ducked and headed into the tunnel, Sarah reluctantly followed her in, Tom behind her and Anthony was at the rear. Only Sarah and Tom's footsteps seemed to make a noise as the mud sucked at their trainers.


	27. Greeting Enemies

Chapter 27

The mud was slippery and squelched as Sarah suppressed a shudder. Even Tom seemed spooked.

And he yipped as something crackled loudly under his foot: it had been something brittle. Stepping sideways as the mud slanted beneath his feet. Sarah grabbed him only just in time, hauling him to safety. His eyes rolled white for a second and he fought to get his balance back, humiliated.

Roseclear laughed. Anthony's eyes glinted brightly in the darkness. Then Roseclear crouched and picked up a shard of something white; the thing that Tom had stepped on. It was a large fragment of skull.

She tossed it at Tom who froze like a deer in the headlights. Sarah defiantly snatched it from the air and dropped it back to the ground.

Roseclear smiled, startled and carried on walking as though suddenly uncertain on how to react. Sarah was startled too that it had unsettled Roseclear so much.

Tom kept his head bowed, embarrassed.

"I hope Kierlan's okay," Sarah whispered, not knowing what to say to Tom to heal his ego.

"He'll be fine," Tom mumbled unconvincingly.

The tunnel was rough hewn mud like the surface of something's mouth. Water trickled like thick silver down the sides. There was an old smell of flesh here but the glints of white bone were so old that she found herself examining the mud as she walked for a telltale sign of ripped flesh, perhaps hidden beneath the slippery mud.

The ground rose the further they walked; becoming strangely firmer. The smell was rising until Sarah gagged, realising that they were walking on corpses. One thing felt…furry. So at least one Nightworld creature had been slaughtered here too. It was nearly comforting to know that it wasn't just her own species being murdered and slung here.

A pinprick of light glowed in the distance. Roseclear kept a severely slow pace to make it look as though she was enjoying this walk through the flesh tunnel until Sarah could have screamed, fighting not to clamp her hand over her nose.

A buzzing sound was rising, slow and monotonous like a badly tuned radio. It was flies, wreathing a half-rotted corpse nearer the pinprick of light. The flies stirred, disturbed by the four of them and even Roseclear was a bit emotional, angrily swatting the flies away and speeding up her pace, hurrying past the corpse which had a cut open arm stretching out pathetically, nearly touching Sarah's trainer until she sidestepped uneasily and hurried on after Roseclear. Tom kept his head down and brown-black eyes trained on the mud the other side of the tunnel.

"Here we are," Roseclear said softly and Anthony strode forward ahead of them with a swift stride, into the pinprick of light that had enlarged to the exit of the tunnel.

Someone had been expecting them: the door had been slung open, golden light slanting across the mud.

Heart thudding with fear, Sarah emerged, slowly blinking in a disoriented way at the people who'd been waiting for Roseclear and her prisoners.


	28. Reunited

Chapter 28

"Kierlan's Soulmate," Roseclear introduced Sarah by grabbing her by the arm and shoving her forward into the arms of a vampire who had been waiting implacably. He had fantastic eyes like black night sky with just a hint of blue and with as many flickers of white sparkling like stars. But his face bore absolutely no emotion, which was even more disconcerting.

He gripped her by the shoulders as Anthony shoved Tom forward. "Expendable," Anthony said, bored.

"He's not!" Sarah said hurriedly. "He's from Daybreak." Tom glared at her. "No I'm not."

She could tell he was lying. Still, she reasoned it'd be better for him to have a chance at staying alive than to be executed straightaway.

"May as well see how much damage Daybreak was allowed to do," Roseclear said with amusement.

"Allowed to do…?" Tom echoed her words, perturbed.

"Of course," Roseclear said in bemusement. "I called ahead to warn them of course, an hour ago."

An hour ago… the tavern, Sarah thought numbly. When she went to feed. She must have phoned Hunter too, to warn him. No wonder she didn't have a drink from the human in front of us. She felt like laughing angrily at herself. And she'd thought it was Roseclear displaying unusually good manners.

So Daybreak just came, Sarah thought numbly, feeling sick. And it was a trap all the time.

Tom looked just as sickened by the thought, opening his mouth to speak, then shut up when Roseclear shrugged, grabbed him by the arm. "I'll have some dinner then," she told the guard vampire holding Sarah. "You put her with the Wild Power boy."

"I don't think that's a good idea," one of the guard vampires spoke up smoothly.

"She can't do anything," Roseclear said calmly, authoritatively. "She's a human. If she moves in at all the wrong way, drink her. Traumatise the Wild Power if you like. Just make sure he doesn't spill any blood otherwise…poof." She laughed softly, not looking at all worried at the idea of a Wild Power explosion.

"Oh fine," the emotionless guard vampire said disgustedly, though a slight tang of emotion had entered his lips at the prospect of dinner. With that, he forced Sarah down another corridor as Roseclear took Tom away.

Keenly, Sarah forced her eyes to adjust to the dimness. So this was where Hunter had dwelt in the years that humans had still been hunting with bows and arrows. Or maybe not. Her memory of history, pardon the pun, was poor: she preferred English and Art.

As the dimness brightened, as she squinted harder, she could see that there were oil lamps hooked to the walls, all unlit. She supposed vampires could see in the dark well enough. _Only humans are nearly blind,_ she thought, only half-joking.

The vampire guard manhandled her down a black-stone corridor. "It's a lot like obsidian," she accidentally said aloud.

The vampire jerked, startled and annoyed. "It is," he said finally. "That is the rock that dragons like."

Dragons! Her mouth went dry. A slow smile twitched at the vampire's lips at how she was obviously unnerved. "Oh well," she said finally, doing her best to sound unconcerned.

"The Harman kid doesn't seem to like the dragons," the vampire said conversationally, a malicious glint in his eye.

"How is Kierlan?" Sarah asked as politely as she could.

"He's only around the next corner," the vampire guard assured her, as the path split into a fork, he took her to the left and she swiftly did her best to recall the route.

_Where?_ a sudden thought burst into her mind, baffling her for a second, and she shook her head slightly, uncertain, and suddenly feeling violated as the vampire guard let go of her to twist an iron handle of a large wooden door that was exactly like one from one of the ancient castles.

"Watch out for the rats," the vampire guard said, disappointed that Sarah hadn't done anything that could have meant he'd have made a meal of her. Clearly he was afraid of Roseclear and her pet dragon.

"I will," Sarah said politely, feeling odd and thoughtless, like she was on one of those days suddenly, where thought was as absent as watching the clouds in the summer sky, like she'd used to do with Susie, lying in one of the neighbour's fields, until the old farmer would run out, waving a pitchfork and scream at them to stop flattening his grass. Her lips twitched at the memory of herself and Susie jumping to their feet and fleeing like deer, Susie laughing loudly.

As the door swung open with a screech, light flooded out.

"Boo," a girl announced, reached out and pulled her in as something leapt out, all tawny-gold, rippling through the shadows as it pinned the guard vampire.

Kierlan laughed and it was a startlingly vicious sound that made Sarah turn with a flinch.

"You're okay?" he called to her, eyes gleaming violet in the shadow. She nodded slowly, uncertain.

"Sorry about getting rid of your escort," Blade said coolly as Angelo, for that was who it must be, finally had the vampire helpless. Blade cleaved a sword blade through the air, decapitating the pinned vampire swiftly.

Shuddering, Sarah looked away. This wasn't like Buffy. If the vampire was old, it'd wrinkle like a mummy. If it was young, it would look like a dead human, with a lot less blood.


	29. Prisoners

Chapter 29

"It was you!" Sarah accused Susie, a smile breaking out on her face.

"I just had a quick peek at what you were seeing," Susie admitted guiltlessly.

"But what about Daybreak?" Sarah demanded. "Did they break in? What about Tom?"

"Tom?" Blade frowned, looking sour.

"Roseclear has him!" Sarah said, becoming frantic as she remembered. "She could be drinking him right now!"

"Daybreak did break in," Susie assured Sarah finally. "But it was a diversion. Me, Blade and Angelo found our way down to the dungeons, using a double agent who was familiar with the layout of this place. I'm sure Daybreak has everyone of its own people out."

"Not Tom," Sarah said firmly. "We found him injured a few miles away, with a dead werewolf."

"A dead werewolf," Susie said slowly. "What type of dead werewolf? Colour?" her voice rose slightly, "was there anything distinctive about the dead werewolf, Sarah? Are you sure it was dead?"

_Oh Goddess_, Sarah thought, horrified. _Tom_? "Definitely dead," she told Susie, a quaver in her voice at how stupid she may have been... "But Tom's human!" she blurted. "Hunter doesn't like humans! Tom can't be working for him!"

"Maybe it's not Hunter that Tom is working for," Blade said harshly. "And maybe it's not us that he's after."

"Tell me everything about him!" Susie demanded and Sarah rushed to dredge up her memory. "He said he lives...lived with two vampires. One of them was killed by Hunter. He joined Daybreak with his other vampire roommate."

"Are you sure he said that his roommate was a vampire?" Susie asked sharply. Sarah nodded. "Ian. Simon looked after him after he was turned by an...insane uncle of Simon's."

"Sounds to me like Ian didn't want to be turned," Blade said softly. "What did he do when he was turned into a vampire?"

"And when did Tom meet him?" Susie said just as quietly. "And why?"

"He said Simon told him about the Nightworld when Ian had starved himself nearly to death," Sarah told them, thinking hard. "But what if he already knew about the Nightworld before?"

"And what if Simon's something to do with someone Tom hated?" Susie asked softly, eyes distant. "Did he actually say that Simon was _alive_?"

"That he'd joined Daybreak with Simon," Sarah confirmed, shaking her head. "And that Simon was in this place. He knew you, Susie. Knew of you, anyway."

"I don't flaunt my magic," Susie said thoughtfully.

"Sure doesn't look like that," Blade said dryly, recalling the fight upstairs when Susie had bashed a pair of vampires against the wall just by looking at them.

"Only when I'm peeved," Susie told him clearly, eyes glinting with malice and meaning. Blade got the hint and shut up sharply.

"I think we ought to go and check on dear Roseclear," Susie said finally, lightly.

"Have you people finished interrogating Sarah?" Kierlan asked sweetly from behind them.

"Yes," Susie said in exasperation. "Go on, do the stuff from the romantic movies that are utterly fake then. I know you've been longing to for ages."

Kierlan grinned and embraced Sarah tightly. "I could have killed you when you sneaked into my dreams!" he declared at her, eyes dark with anger. She smiled at him, too glad to see him to be mad at him yet.

"And going off with that insane cousin of mine wasn't exactly Albert-Einstein thinking," Susie muttered.

"Hey!" Kierlan protested. "This is _my_ moment, remember!" With that, he kissed Sarah hard on the lips.


	30. Here Be Anthony

Chapter 30

"Are there really dragons here?" Sarah asked Susie as they walked up a set of stairs. Kierlan's eyes were bright violet in the darkness. Dead candles lined the walls around them and windows were concealed by heavy black drapes. When Blade pulled one of the drapes away and looked outside, his eyes made a slight skittish movement then resumed their infallible calm.

His hand kept holding the drape back as though he'd forgotten he was holding it. Sarah went forward and looked outside. it was just a view of the ground: it looked like it had suffered a flash flood: the mud was all churned up and dotted with stones. Looking out further, trying to see what had unsettled Blade, she could see one of the tunnel doors had been left open, embracing this torn up field of mud.

"So are there?" Sarah asked Susie again, turning away puzzled from the window. Blade forced himself to let go of the drape and it flapped back heavily against the stone wall. "Are there dragons, Suze?"

"We'd not be able to do much against dragons," Susie said.

"That's not an answer," Sarah muttered and Kierlan lay a hand hard on her shoulder. "It is," he said softly into her ear. She looked up at him uncertainly then let it go as he dropped his hand. Like a child, she reached out, slipping her hand into his. he gripped her hand, a small smile creeping over his smooth features. His spiky hair gave an edgy silhouette on the walls they passed.

"So what do we do if Tom's killing Rosethorn?" Susie asked Blade.

"I think it'd be the other way around," Blade replied dismissively.

Susie dropped back to talk to Sarah. "Don't mind him," she said, meaning the grumpy vampire. "He didn't get to exercise enough rage on Hunter's vampires."

"Blade isn't like that," Sarah muttered, feeling guilty.

"He's a vampire," Susie said gently. "Vampires aren't tolerant. At times they are prone to being a bit more...animal." it was what her mother had always warned her anyway. She'd not believed it until today, watching Blade pace around the dungeon, waiting for the guard to come with Sarah. She was just glad that Angelo was here: he never lost his temper. He was a little too 'insane' for that.

Thinking of the cougar shapeshifter, she looked at him. Angelo's lips twitched, knowing she was watching him. She dropped her gaze immediately. his wintry eyes were icy today with excitement from how much fighting he'd done. He was on an adrenaline rush like he'd never got when patrolling the woods.

"I have a theory," Angelo said conversationally.

"What like?" Susie queried with interest.

"I don't want to tell you yet," he replied with a small, subversive smile, "I want to see if I'm right."

Blade had gone up the stairs ahead of them, was turning his head slightly at sounds they didn't hear. His eyes were sharp. Confidently, he led the way. "The ladies' chambers are this way. That's where Roseclear would take her food."

"How'd you know that?" Susie asked sharply.

He ignored her as the staircase curved sharply and he ducked. She almost didn't see the reason. "Ow!" Susie snapped as her head banged into the wooden screen that hung down lower from the ceiling.

"It's a primitive form of a burglar alarm," Blade said absent-mindedly. "Works beautifully on humans and surprised witches and smaller-species shapeshifters. And young vampires."

"Could've warned me," Susie muttered resentfully, rubbing her sore head and carefully stroking back her mussed-up dark hair.

"Are you sure you feel pain any more?" Sarah asked, only half-kidding. Susie shot her an uncertain glance intermingled with hurt but kept quiet, her pace quickening along a hallway. "For a paranoid vampire, he has a lot of wood here," she commented coolly.

"There's too much wood in the world to try and hide from it," Blade replied, running his hand along one of the wooden panelled walls. "But this stuff's been coated with wax to make it too soft to be used as a weapon. Wax can't hurt us, after all."

Roseclear yipped from one of the rooms and broke into giggles. "You funny vampire hunter, Tom." There was a crack and a thud. Sarah sped up but Blade reached the door first, kicked it open. Tom fell out, unconscious. "For a vampire hunter, you're weak!" Roseclear called out witheringly and strode out. She was jsut a bit shorter than Blade and met his eyes evenly with a hint of interest flickering across her face. "Hello." She didn't sound at all out of breath and had even adopted a bit of coyness.

"I'm not interested," he said flatly, and hauled Tom up to his feet. Roseclear pouted and reached out to pull Tom from him. "He's my dinner. I knocked him out: he's mine by right."

"You ate earlier," Blade said boredly. "You know you're not allowed to over-drink."

"Then I can save him for later," Roseclear argued.

"No!" Sarah shouted at her, furious, her fists clenching. Susie jumped in hastily. "You're a witch, Roseclear, raised as one. You know how we feel about murder, even for food or spells."

Roseclear's shoulders slumped and her eyes grazed Susie's form with interest. "You have grown up. You are a cousin of mine, aren't you?"

"Distant," Susie said coolly.

"Then how many times have you raised a dragon?" Roseclear replied. Anthony stepped forward obediently as though beckoned. "And how many times have you killed one?"

"I'd rather not answer that," Susie mumbled, a nervous look in her eyes as she looked at Anthony. His lips bore no expression but in his eyes was the hunting joy of something primal, that Sarah found painful to look at.

"May I suggest something," Kierlan said in an odd, gentle way.

"Go ahead," Susie said, glad for something else to focus on: she needed to tear her eyes from Anthony's: for in them was the chill of glaciers and the ferocity of volcanoes. She couldn't cut her gaze from his eyes, summon the thought she needed to even do that: otherwise she'd have seen the horns curving up from his forehead, arching forward like a demonic unicorn's horns. She didn't even hear the crackling of the dragon's spine as two spear-like white bones erupted: one on each shoulder. Like silk being woven at incredible speed, the bones were becoming wings with edges sharp as swords.

His eyes were terrible amber infused with fire. Afraid, Susie was barely aware of the fire flaring up within herself. "Hecate," she murmured, trembling, feeling suddenly like she was about to be consumed, and would be able to do nothing: it would happen in a flash... _Focus on Kierlan_, a voice said sharply in her head. With difficulty, she trained her ear on what Kierlan would say.

"Run," Kierlan said simply, grabbed Sarah and Susie's arms: Sarah grabbed Susie's other arm, and they all fled.

Anthony roared: his wings crackled like terrible lightning and in a twist of speed, he rose and sped after them like an arrow.


	31. The Soulmate Connection

Chapter 31

Blade raced past them, head bent low, breathing deeply, not for need of oxygen, but to smell the graveyard dirt.

"Get them, Anthony!" Roseclear's voice was exalted as she stood tall. Tom was still in the room behind her, but Blade didn't give a damn any more. Just take out the dragon, he thought carelessly. No matter what.

As he passed Sarah, he felt a tug at his heart and a burst of hatred like acid coursed through him, hatred of Kierlan. He sped on faster, thoughts erratic and he didn't dare to withdraw the antique dagger that was especially for whomever threatened the blood of those dearest to the clan of Donaigo.

A long time ago, if you had told him that one day he'd be harbouring a hatred for a Wild Power, he'd have laughed viciously and said "isn't that the nature of a Redfern? Well, I am not a Redfern! I am a Donaigo!"

But aren't Donaigo's clan like Redfern? He wondered painfully. They're just a newer clan. But they could become like the Redferns. What if Donaigo's becoming like Hunter? Or worse, what if it's me?

He'd wondered whether Hunter had been this vicious when he'd first been born. That's the difference between me and you, he thought defiantly at Hunter. You were born and I was made.

That made it simple to him: the corridors with their gloomy layer of wax no longer seemed such a prison. He couldn't care that Sarah was here. She'd never guess that…

Finally he reached the door that he hated.

"Through here!" he yelled, and twisted the handle, pushed the door: it swung forward with a high whine.

Susie's mouth opened in protest but Kierlan pushed her through, pulling Sarah after him.

The first sound Sarah heard was a loud crunch: automatically she looked down. She couldn't conjure surprise up at the fragments of skull beneath her trainer. Only that it was shining hard and red, like someone had coated it in orange-red nail polish.

Kierlan whistled softly, involuntarily. Sarah snapped her attention back gratefully to him.

"I've seen that before," he murmured, and she thought he meant the skull.

Then he took a step forward, deeper into the room.

Look around! A voice seemed to shout in her head and she broke her attention free from the skull.

The room was a dark, gothic, Romanesque shrine of a room: blood-velvet long curtains draped down black painted walls. Skulls were along the floor, arranged in a curvy line, like a curvy path across the room. All the skulls had the same hard coating, like different dark colours of nail varnish, on their arched surfaces.

"Human skulls," Susie said harshly.

The skull path led to a polished, black wood cabinet. Eyes stern, Blade twisted the handle and pulled open one of the cabinet doors.

Within the cabinet was infinity.

Black space, marked with white specks.

"What is it?" Sarah asked Susie, expecting a knowledgeable answer.

"A spell?" Susie asked uncertainly. "Or a trick?...No." She reached out slightly, but couldn't touch it.

"It has more depth than air," Susie murmured, eyes bright and puzzled. "But it's…heavy. Like low gravity."

Kierlan stepped forward. "It's a portal," he said in a low voice, his heart racing. "I've…seen it before."

"Seen it?" Blade demanded, amazed. "What sort of portal?"

"You've seen it too," Kierlan told Sarah, who was frowning, looking away from him and the portal. She shook her head, her long hair wavered with her movement.

"I've seen it too," Brooke said, striding forward and staring with fascination into the closet. Kelly was behind him; he rubbed his arms hard, almond-shaped eyes dark and gleaming like a wild creature.

"Where did you come from?" Antonio drawled, pivoting on his foot and stepping in front of Kelly as Blade stepped in Brooke's way, eyes startled.

"Invisibility spell," Brooke said with relish. "We've been following you ever since Roseclear took you all hostage. We were so lucky that I cast a look-away spell just before turning me and Kelly invisible."

Kelly laughed nastily, giving an admiring glance to the room around them. "You didn't think we'd miss this?"

"You're still under our protection," Brooke added to Sarah. "Jack's nearly dead thanks to darling Roseclear."

"It's your fault for letting her into your club," Sarah retorted.

"No, it's Laurence's fault. He thinks he's in love with Roseclear," Kelly said coolly. "He's a besotted fool. And until Jack can end the fascination, maybe find him a new girl, we've had to put up with it. Not that Jack hasn't made use of the fascination, what with Roseclear raising Anthony and a few others."

"And by find a new girl for Laurence, what do you mean?" Sarah asked innocently, recalling the pissed-off girl getting into her land-rover when Sarah, Susie and Blade had arrived at the mansion.

Kelly shrugged. "I checked around for girls who don't mind homicidal nutters. Found plenty of them."

"I sent plenty of lovely witches his way too," Brooke said helpfully.

"They're the reason for him having plenty of bruises," Kelly said sarcastically. "Hated him so much, they slapped him."

"Ran bets on it," Brooke said sweetly. "I won five dollars for each grievous occasion of assault on Laurence."

"Enough!" Blade said sharply and pointed at the cabinet. "What is that?"

"It's something to do with the Soulmate connection," Brooke said comfortably. "I saw a glimpse of it when I hacked into your connection. Can't imagine why it'd be here."

Kierlan cleared his throat. "I can."

"Then illuminate me," Blade said coolly, not looking at him.

"My mother must be here," Kierlan said apologetically. "She was the one obsessed with the Soulmate connection. She seemed to believe that there must be a physical place."

"That the Soulmate place is physical?" Sarah said softly, stunned. "But it's not!"

"Exactly what the vampires thought," Kierlan sighed. "My mother's clan stood by her. It led to a rather fierce, bloody battle. And my mother ended up realising when I was born, that she was threatening my life. So she tried to end the feud. Her obsession completely ended. She became like a normal witch. But it wasn't enough for the vampires. They killed her, made her a vampire. It broke her: she'd been ready to surrender."

"And she tried to kill you," Blade said harshly. "Didn't she? She's a mad vampire, Kierlan. She tried to kill her human son."

"She'd have turned me," Kierlan protested. "Not killed me straight!"

"She's mad! She works for Hunter." Blade's eyes flashed obsidian. "And she's back onto working on this ridiculous project of whatever the Soulmate place is!"

"She wouldn't if I had stayed with her," Kierlan said hotly.

"She'd have killed you instead!" Sarah snapped, appalled.

"Forget it," Blade told Kierlan threateningly, rounding on him. "She's your mother? Forget it. She's a vampire. Vampires don't have souls. They don't have any love for humans!"

"Whoa," Brooke muttered out of the side of her mouth to Kelly. "What drug is Blade on?"

"A man scorned," Kelly said dryly, glancing at Sarah.

"A vampire scorned," Brooke corrected thoughtfully, then stepped forward to peer harder into the black mass: it glittered like the universe: pitch black with silver stars. "It has edges," she remarked, surprised, tracing its edges slowly with a dainty finger adorned with violet nail polish. "It's like it's been cut with those crazy cutters, you know? Those scissors that do zigzags."

She was right: the portal had definite zigzag edges, but it was as though it had been pushed into the cabinet.

"Now that's infinity crammed into a cabinet," Kelly said slyly.

"I'd suggest, if we've got a vampire-witch running around, with ability to catch a portal and cram it into a cabinet," Brooke said, "that we either run to Mexico and pray for deliverance, or we surrender and pretend we're her best friends, or we have a definite plan."

"Sounds good to me," Susie said lightly, hefting a crackling ball of violet witchfire in her hand like a tennis ball.

Poor Kierlan didn't look so certain.


	32. Kelly vs Kierlan

Chapter 32

The sacrificial altar, stained with the blood of twenty virgins of all species, was surprisingly portable, slamming against the door to the room. "Hey, a lock!" Susie said, leaning over the altar to twist the lock. Kelly grinned and didn't admit that he hadn't seen it.

Brooke was playfully tossing a skull between her hands. Blade was quietly wiping the edge of his coat along his knife. Troubled, Sarah watched Kierlan and wished she knew how to really reassure him. I don't even know him, she realised. The thought didn't sadden her: it infuriated her. How shall I learn about him? She thought, appalled.

"How different it is to look into the realm," Kierlan murmured to himself.

"How did your mother even learn about the Soulmate place?" Sarah asked him. He moved his shoulders, not in a shrug, but in the way of an uncomfortable fidget, and suddenly reached a hand out to the portal; his fingers trembled.

"What are you doing?" Sarah demanded quietly, eyes on him and uncomfortably aware that the others might turn and see what Kierlan was doing. She had no doubt that Blade would be especially pissed off. _Boys,_ she thought with a sigh. _So easily jealous._

Then she remembered what Susie had been like when it had looked like Blade and Kierlan would fight for Sarah's heart. _Girls,_ Sarah thought stoically too. _They're easily jealous too. Damn._

"I don't know," Kierlan said, troubled. "I just...wanted to...touch it." His fingers hovered a quarter of an inch from the beginning of the portal.

"We don't know anything about it," Sarah told him practically.

"Yes he does," a voice exclaimed. The voice held as much ice as Antartica's glaciers: she even knew who it'd be, when she turned around. The woman who had taken Kierlan, the one who was strong enough to keep Susie and Rita locked in their own rooms.

"Hello, mother," Kierlan said quietly. Sarah couldn't be surprised. Susie fought to move. "Let go of us," she said softly, threateningly. "I know who you are now. I know you're Harman and..."

"Redfern," Blade finished sourly.

"Just like you're of Donaigo's clan," the woman said sweetly. "There's bad blood in everything."

"And there's madness in you," Blade retorted. "Let your son go."

Sarah blinked, surprised. Blade was sticking up for Kierlan.

"And let Sarah go, too," Susie said bravely. A lump formed in Sarah's throat at the courage of her friends, even as they were helpless.

Kierlan's mother jerked her hand and the ritual altar slammed across the room, the doors flung open with a metallic screech, like long, twisted fingernails running down a blackboard.

"No," Susie gritted, her eyes flared violet suddenly. "Hecate!" she called, "hear thy words, hear...thy words of a daughter of Hecate..." She was struggling to say the words though.

"Leave her alone!" Sarah shouted, angry. "Leave us all alone!"

Kierlan's mother turned her eyes on Sarah: her lips were a beautiful sneer, her eyes were bright violet and feverishly mad, framed with long, black eyelashes. "Come here."

Her mind swam with thoughts, thoughts as fast as a cloud of violet butterflies: she wanted to grab the thoughts but sensed that they were sharp as knives. Is this Kierlan's mother's mind? she wondered, unable to see how, in the real world, her feet were moving inexorably towards Kierlan's mother, in quiet, small strides, like a sleepwalker.

"No," Kierlan said levelly, raced forward and grabbed Sarah's hand. "She's staying with me, mother."

Kierlan's mother blinked, as though she herself was waking up, just as Sarah was. "Hello, Kierlan," she said in an odd way and for a second her violet eyes were as clear as the ocean on a summer's day, clear of madness.

"Hello, mother," Kierlan said in a resigned way, used to the strange abstract way his mother's mind worked.

"Now remember not to touch the portal," Kierlan's mother said in a strangely brisk, bemused way. "I'm working with it again tonight. Father will be back in an hour. You know he's got a surprise for you."

"Father's dead," Kierlan said with exaggerated patience. "And it's far too late to warn me not to interfere with the portal."

"You haven't been in it," Kierlan's mother said sternly, in such a motherly way. "You know I know best."

"I have been in it," Kierlan said quietly. "Mother, me and Sarah have been in it. Together."

Kierlan's mother frowned: her eyes were becoming cloudy, confused violet again, her sneer faltering to a perplexed frown. "Then you should be mad, love."

"I am," Kierlan promised her, a severe look in his eyes. "Every person who has ever found their Soulmate feels mad. I love Sarah, mother. You never should have gone into the portal: for you have never found your Soulmate. The Soulmate place is not for lonely witches."

_That's how she turned mad,_ Sarah began to wonder.

"Sarah," Kierlan said in a low voice, as Kierlan's mother shook her head. "Step back." He was stepping back himself. Towards the closet, towards the portal within it.

"No, Kierlan!" his mother shouted, eyes flaring wide like a dying woman. She stretched a hand out, but Kierlan shoved Sarah towards the portal. "Keep holding my hand!" he shouted at her.

"Susie!" Sarah yelled, helplessly. "We can't leave her behind!"

"She hasn't got a Soulmate yet," Kierlan snapped. "We'd be putting her in more danger!"

Kelly growled softly: not a human growl: it was a deeper growl. He was straightening up: red light glowed around him: the same red light as Brooke's magic.

"Shapeshifters and witches can't share magic," Susie whispered, astounded.

"That is why we are unusual," Brooke growled. "We learned it."

Kelly strained forward, past Kierlan's mother's magic, but he wasn't getting far.

"How do I give magic?" Susie asked, her voice tense, trying to at least flex her fingers, but the magic was like drowning in syrup.

"I don't know," Brooke replied illogically. "We just do it occasionally. We don't exactly document it. Kelly got thrown out of his clan for this. He's just a magnet for witch magic. We don't know why."

"If he's a magnet," Susie said grimly, "then he can take as much of my magic as he can handle." She clenched her fists, magic glowed green around her form, like fresh, new grass, like tender shoots of bluebell leaves, as green as her eyes, terribly vivid.

Green blended with red in twists and tangles, like roses and thorns around Kelly. He bowed his head, shoulders straightening, then dropped to all fours, began transforming painfully. His fur was tawny gold, eyes as green as Susie's. When he finally reached the end of transformation, he grandly shook his mane and regarded Kierlan's mother sternly, with all the majesty of a lion.


	33. New World

Chapter 33

"Go, Kelly," Brooke whispered and Kelly lunged at Kierlan's mother. A tear traced down Kierlan's cheek and he gripped Sarah's hand tighter with a tremble as he watched his mother furiously stand against Kelly, trying to push him back. But he was a powerful young lion, unstoppable and powered by two witches as well as his own energy. He pinned Kierlan's mother and growled as he made a decision no one else would be able to stop.

A light entered Kierlan's mother's eyes: a strange, sad light: she knew she was facing death.

It looked like Kelly was going for the killing bite: to sever the neck column like any sensible feline does when hunting. But Kierlan's mother shoved herself back, blood travelling down her clothes. She didn't glance at her son once. She just vanished in a ripple of magic.

Kelly transformed back slowly, confused.

"I'm sorry," he said finally to Brooke and Susie. Brooke smiled at him, came to him and laid a hand on his arm. "You did wonderfully, love."

He smiled faintly, and got up, trembling. Then he looked at Kierlan and Sarah. "And what are you two going to do about that...portal?"

"We don't know where Kierlan's mother is," Blade said reasonably, eyes hard. "Shouldn't we find her?"

"She won't be found unless she wants to be found," Kierlan said softly, shaking his head slowly. Then he looked back towards the portal. "I keep feeling like...there's something in the portal that I've never seen before. But that I need to see."

"Do you feel the same way?" Brooke asked Sarah keenly. Sarah shook her head. "It's amazing," she said, looking back at the portal. "But it just feels...weird to me. But a...pleasant weird."

"I'd love to see what's in it," Susie said wistfully.

"Anyone who went in, who hasn't got their Soulmate, would go insane," Kierlan reminded her bitterly.

Finally, Blade took out his phone from his jacket pocket. "I'm calling Daybreak," he said tersely. "Does anyone object? They ought to know what's going on."

Sarah nodded and looked at Kierlan. "I agree."

Kierlan nodded too, his eyes giving her a clear message, an invitation that he pleaded her not to resist or refuse. The way her lips quirked up in an acknowledging smile was her answer.

"See you later," Kierlan murmured, so it took a second for them to realise what he was doing, even as he spun on his heel and leapt forward, Sarah beside him, vanishing into the portal: they both vanished.

"Sarah!" Susie shouted, Blade managed to push her back just before she might have mindlessly followed. "They needed to do that," he said heavily.

"She left me behind again," Susie whispered.


	34. Wild Powers Dilemma

Chapter 34

"Someone call a Wild Power with a Soulmate on the side?" Jez quipped grimly, coming into the room. Her shoulders were straight and nervous but her gleaming silver-blue eyes were excited and intrigued.

"I can't believe this is happening," Iliana enthused, entering the room daintily. She smiled at Susie, the lonely witch, a beautiful, sweet, friendly smile. "You must be one of my distant cousins, the one that everyone talks about."

Susie blushed, flattered. "Susie. Nice to meet you, Iliana Harman."

"So where's the arrogant little hothead?" Delos queried harshly, looking around as he came in. Now he was an image of aloof royalty, his golden eyes sharp and expectant. Maggie laughed softly and looked at him impishly. "You don't have to hate Kierlan so much, Delos."

It was strange to see how his eyes softened as soon as she laid her hand on his arm, still smiling at him.

Jez was already walking towards Blade, expecting answers from him. Morgead walked beside her, his green eyes intent. "We didn't get a very clear message from you, Blade. Mind telling us what's happened?"

Blade was still looking at the cabinet, watching it intently. "Kierlan and Sarah went into the portal in a small fit of insanity."

"But it is…pretty," Jez murmured, entranced by the night-sky appearance of the portal. Morgead rolled his eyes. "I've never heard her say the word 'pretty' before. It must be doing a spell on her."

"But she's right," Iliana said softly, coming closer. "It's amazing."

"Has the same air as the Soulmate Realm," Delos said with a nod, looking at Maggie for certainty. She was frowning slightly.

"Just like it was for Sarah and Kierlan," Susie murmured sharply. "The Wild Power Soulmate is most fascinated by the portal, whereas the other half is a little more…level-headed."

Delos burst out laughing, a harsh laugh. "You sounded like a scientist. We're not lab rats, witch!"

Susie hissed between her teeth, hurt. Blade protectively laid a hand on her shoulder. "Why exactly were all of you sent here? We thought it would be agents."

"So did we," Morgead said coolly, looking around. "But someone sent a message from Aradia. She told us to look at our clocks and calendars and find Kierlan. Then your call came in, and these three made the decision to come here. The rest of us just tagged along."

"Look at your clocks and calendars?" Susie asked, intrigued. "Why?"

Jez laughed. "Don't you _know_?"

"We haven't had time to look at calendars, and we don't wear watches," Blade replied sharply. "So please just tell us."

"It's December 30th," Iliana explained simply.

"And…" Maggie consulted her watch. "11.52. Eight minutes before the end of the world."

Susie hiccupped, amazed. "What!"

Iliana laughed and looked around. "I don't think this is our battleground, though. Blue fire isn't exactly…house friendly."

"The Soulmate Realm!" Susie said excitedly, stared at the portal. "That's where, isn't it?"

"Bingo," Maggie grinned, holding Delos's hand. "And now, we'd better go."

"Wait!" Susie stared at Iliana. "But you don't have a Soulmate! You'll go mad!"

The smile dropped from Iliana's lips. "I know I might. But I don't have time to search for a Soulmate. And I can't rent one."

"So instead, she's got two best friends," a girl said grimly, finally coming in the room. "Daybreak's confirmed that there's four dragons in this building, guys. Roseclear's locked herself in a room with one. So let's be quick."

Kelly stared at the girl, eyes gleaming with gladness and attraction. "Raksha Keller, betrothed to the shape-shifter Prince Galen, and ultimate fighter among shape-shifters."

"And Kelly Santero," Keller replied, one eyebrow raised, "flirt among shape-shifters."

Galen laughed softly, came forward to Iliana. "As me and Keller are Soulmates, we'll try and keep Iliana safe, joined to us."

"That might work!" Brooke said excitedly. "I mean, I didn't have a Soulmate when I hacked into Sarah's connection: I was shielded by Kierlan and Sarah! So it might work!"

"Here's to hoping," Iliana said quietly and stepped forward. Keller and Galen held her hands.

"We'll go first," Jez said. Morgead didn't say that he hadn't planned on volunteering. Instead he just shrugged and came forward with her. She reached a hand out to the portal: sparks lanced out and grabbed her forward, Morgead disappeared with her.

Then Delos and Maggie went after them.

A second later, Delos came back, clinging to Maggie's hand. "I don't think we can risk Iliana," he said worriedly.

"We don't have a choice!" Iliana snapped. it was the first time he'd heard her snap. It didn't amaze him: he just felt more sorry for her.

"Four less one and darkness triumphs," Maggie said coolly. "We have to be absolutely certain that you can get through safely."

"Wait a second..." Delos was biting his lip, eyes deep in thought. "What if the Soulmate realm had something to recognise, like a token of Soulmates?"

"There isn't such a thing," Iliana replied. "There's only tokens of the Nightworld."

"A token of each creature," Susie said urgently. "Black dahlia for witches, black rose for vampires..."

"Black nightshade for shapeshifters," Kelly said abruptly.

"But we're not really the only things in the Nightworld any more," Blade said meaningfully. He was thinking too. His eyes were grim as he went to Delos and Maggie, murmured something into Maggie's eyes. She listened, then nodded, grabbed Delos's hand and ran back into the Soulmate Portal.

"Hurry guys," Blade murmured, feeling the time draw closer. The time of reckoning, for the existence of the world.


	35. Face the Apocalypse part 1

Introduction to this part of the story:

Brief reminder: Sarah Strange and Kierlan Harman, soulmates, have already fled through the portal into the Soulmate Realm. The other 3 Wild Powers have followed: Jez and Delos have their soulmates. But Iliana is alone and stuck in the dilemma: only soulmates are allowed into the Soulmate Realm: so how can she enter the Realm without being driven insane?

**Four less one and Darkness Triumphs...**

Tessadragon

* * *

Face the Apocalypse: Part 1

"Harman!" Delos yelled, no pleasantness in his tone as he strode out from the portal, barely pausing to admire thepale landscape of the Soulmate Realm.

"Took your time," Kierlan said languorously, lying on his back, arms comfortable behind his head. "We've been here for ages."

"This isn't a good time for a nap," Delos pointed out curtly, his profile sharp as a hawk in this mist-breathing realm. His hand was still protectively around Maggie's waist, the girl took it good-naturedly.

"What bee stung you?" Sarah commented sarcastically, her eyes seeming deep green, warped by the violet-blue mist. "We're tired. It's not often that my boyfriend's mother tries to kill us."

Kierlan smiled, pleased by how Sarah had called him her boyfriend. It was a small, trivial thing-- but his nervous mind needed it.

"And who are you, anyway?" Sarah asked coolly, misty green eyes aloof.

"I am Maggie's Soulmate," Delos replied coldly, his arm drawing Maggie closer. "As your Soulmate knew, when he tried to flirt with her."

"We don't have time--" Maggie tried to interrupt, jerking at Delos's hand: she was beginning to look annoyed.

"Oh, Kierlan!" Sarah turned to the male witch, appalled. "You didn't, did you?"

Sheepishly, wishing he could deny it, Kierlan nodded. "It was nothing serious," he assured Sarah.

"Forget it, please," Maggie snapped and turned to Sarah. "Sarah, right? I need your Soulmate Star. Blade told me about it. I need it. Right now!"

Startled, Sarah was already reaching into her pocket. Kierlan watched her, appalled. "You kept a gift from Blade? Ex-boyfriend vampire, Blade?"

"Yes," Sarah muttered and possessed aguilty gladness in handing the pretty necklace to Maggie. "Why do you need it?"

Maggie didn't answer. She spun on her heel, grabbed Delos's hand again and disappeared back through the portal entrance way again.

"Hmm," Kierlan said, scowling slightly.

"Got it," Maggie said breathlessly, reappearing in the dark room where Iliana waited nervously.

"And here's a Black Rose," Delos coolly took his ring off: it was engraved with a black rose, icon of vampires.

"Black nightshade," Kelly offered a pendant from around his neck and told them not to ask how he'd got it, or why he wore it. Brooke smiled at that.

"I've got a black dahlia," Iliana showed them an engraved necklace, took it off and held it in her hand, along with the other tokens.

"And a Soulmate Star," Blade said meaningfully. "Symbol of humans. Dredged up from a history book, only found and decoded six months ago."

"Beautiful," Brooke murmured, appreciatively eyeing it. "Almost makes me wish to be human."

"Ha," Kelly said shortly.

"Gotta go," Iliana said nervously.

"Good luck," Susie whispered as Iliana finally, gripping her friends' hands tightly, her face white with actual fear, disappeared into the Soulmate realm.

A clatter rang through the room as the four icons of the Nightworld fell to the floor.

"It didn't work!" Susie whispered, distressed, crouching and snatching the icy cold jewels.

"Oh goddess," Blade said softly, shaking his head. "I don't know what's worse!"

A shudder ran through the cavern.

"Why did you say that!" Susie gasped, nearly slapped the vampire: "You've just cursed us with bad luck!"

And he got the feeling she was right.

The rumbling grew worse.

The walls shifted and blue light exploded from the portal: shape flooded out of it.

Keller was screaming, Blade threw himself out to catch her, cushioning the force of her fall with his own body. Galen was curled up tight.

"It…" Keller gasped, her body rigid with shock, her lungs squeezing in terror, "it threw us out… Iliana!" She looked around the room, distraught like the young witch might appear. "Iliana!" she looked like she might start crying. "Where's Iliana?"

Galen squeezed her hand, his own face bone white, a spot of blood upon his forehead. Just as distressed, he raised a shaking hand to his eyes.

"Wait a second," Blade said softly. "Where are the dragons? Where did Keller say the dragons are?"

Keller was too dizzy to look at him. "I can't…I can't remember."

Galen squeezed her hand. "It'll be okay," he said dazedly. "It'll be okay. She'll be okay."

"Where are the dragons?" Susie insisted, panic creeping into her voice. "Please, Keller! You must remember!"

Keller tried to remember, but her eyes were out of focus with the force of the blow.

Was that the sound of heavy footsteps down the corridor, coming closer? Was Anthony or one of the other dragons coming?

"Let's not wait and find out!" Brooke said, alarmed. They left the room at a run.

* * *

"Where'd you go?" Sarah asked as Delos and Maggie reappeared in the Soulmate Realm. 

"Here's hoping," Maggie murmured, turning to watch as Iliana tentatively stepped into the Soulmate realm, her hand clenched. Her face was white.

"I think I'm sane," Iliana said shakily, putting her own necklace back around her neck.

Delos had recovered his standoffish ways, eyeing Kierlan disapprovingly. "You're still as irresponsible as I remember you being."

"We went over that, last time," Kierlan reminded him.

"What's past is past," Sarah agreed.

"—And boring," Jez the half-vampire interrupted meaningfully, pointed out to a pinprick of blackness that was thousands of miles away, but speeding nearer every second. "Don't suppose anyone brought a coat, did they?" and she shivered.

It was cold. Delos barely seemed to feel it, or if he did, he didn't show it. Neither did Jez's Soulmate, Morgead. His eyes hard and wary, he gave warmth to his Soulmate selflessly. Delos barely seemed to notice, at least not immediately, that Maggie needed it as well.

"It's like the world's turning to ice," Sarah whispered. "Black ice."

Kierlan watched Morgead and Delos comfort their Soulmates. Then he looked at Iliana and Sarah, stepped in between them as violet fire writhed gently, warmly around his form. Iliana smiled, amazed: her smile was like sunrise but Sarah wasn't jealous because Kierlan's eyes were on her, not Iliana.

"Ready?" Jez murmured, as Delos took out a knife from his belt and ran it down his arm. Blood flooded up and in the darkness, it seemed to glow blue as the fire it would conjure. he offered it to Jez but she grinned grimly, fangs peeking out delicately from her lips. She nipped her own wrist hard and drew her fangs further down her wrist. Iliana offered a silver athame to Kierlan, who reluctantly borrowed it as the Soulmates watched the darkness speeding towards them. He handed the athame back to Iliana.

"Can you imagine what it must have been like?" Maggie murmured, fascinated. "To watch the end of the world before?"

"It would have been like madness," Iliana whispered, the athame hovering over her wrist. Her hand was shaking harder. "Madness, panic and terror."

"You ready, Iliana?" Delos asked curtly, prompting the witch girl. She didn't answer. Her lips slightly parted as though breathless. In the darkness, her skin bore a blue tinge.


	36. Face the Apocalypse part 2

Sorry I didn't do the acknowledgments last time. The reviews have been tailing off for quite a long time. Perhaps because the story's so long.

Anyway...

Altaira: Thanks for always giving a review: I really appreciate it!

Rosey: glad you're enjoying the story

Ria: glad you're liking the story

Operation Ivy: In case I haven't driven you off by accidentally getting way too over-enthusiastic ages ago, I hope you're enjoying the story.

* * *

Face the Apocalypse: part 2

Obsidian ice swept closer at the speed of light, only miles lay between it and the four chosen to save the world and their Soulmates. Except Iliana was alone.

Her hands wrapped around herself, she shivered: her lips were blue, her violet eyes sparkling like ice. She was fairy-like and felt sick, nauseous. Poison crept through her mind in the guise of fear.

Delos swept the knife across his wrist: blood sprang forth. He clenched his fist.

"I can't get used to how easily he does that," Maggie confided to Sarah, who laughed nervously, watching as Delos handed the knife to Kierlan, Sarah's Soulmate. The way Delos regarded Kierlan with superior dark eyes was a challenge: Kierlan responded to that fiercely and Sarah groaned inwardly as Kierlan swiped the knife neatly across his wrist, clenched his fist too. Blood wept and Kierlan didn't flinch.

Jez used her own vampiric teeth to cut her wrist.

"Iliana," Jez said, her tongue licked up over her wet lips,cleaning away a trace of blood. "Your turn."

Iliana watched her blankly for a second then numbly accepted the knife from Kierlan, ran it slowly over her wrist.

"Are you alright?" Kierlan asked his fellow witch. She didn't respond.

"It'll be upon us if we don't do it now," Delos interrupted Kierlan's wait for Iliana's answer. "We must do it now."

Jez nodded in agreement.

Kierlan gave a look to Sarah: that was all it took and then blue fire rose and wrapped around his fist.

Delos gave a brief smile to Maggie who rose on her toes and kissed his lips. His smile deepened and she held his free hand as he summoned blue fire.

"No testosterone," Sarah mouthed at Kierlan fiercely. "Just save the world please!"

He grinned. "Do I get a kiss too?" She rolled her eyes and gave him a kiss on the lips too.

Morgead kissed Jez on the lips, smiling, then stepped back."Go get 'em, tiger." Jez smiled fiercely: her blue fire was slower to rise, but as blue as a cluster of sapphires.

Sarah hesitated, then gave Iliana a hug. "Make Keller and Galen proud."

Iliana nodded, her eyes vacant.

Three beacons of blue now shone on this cliff edge.

Black ice swept faster towards them, drawn by the wild power fire, eager to extinguish and absorb it.

_Four less one and darkness triumphs..._

"Iliana!" Delos snapped. "Hurry up and power up!"

Iliana didn't respond.

"Don't be scared, Iliana," Jez said roughly. "Use the blue fire to stay warm. Come on!"

"Iliana," Kierlan said, voice tinged with fear. "Hurry! We need you!"

Maggie grabbed Iliana by the shoulders, lightly shook her. "Come on, girl! Wake up!"

Iliana was as limp as a rag doll as Maggie shook her.

"We can't do this without you!" Jez shouted at Iliana, her eyes trained on the obsidian ice speeding towards them. "Come on! Please!"

Iliana still didn't respond. Blueness spread over her features. Maggie pressed the back of her hand to Iliana's cheek. "She's cold as ice, guys!"

"We have to try on our own," Delos decided swiftly. His eyes had gained uncertainty though.

"But the prophecy..." Kierlan spoke up, his voice strained.

"No help for it," Delos replied, then spoke to Maggie. "Try and get Iliana to snap out of it. It's vital!"

"No need to tell me that!" Maggie snapped anxiously.

"Sorry." Delos turned back to the obsidian ice, breathed in a deep sigh. Blue fire lanced out from his hand, arcing towards the obsidian ice.

Kierlan gave one last sorry glance to Iliana, then turned his blue fire towards the black ice.

Jez did the same: the blue fire from the three was magnificent, but the black ice swept forwards eagerly, ravenously. A bead of sweat broke out on Kierlan's forehead.

Sarah shook Iliana's shoulders, looked at Maggie. "What can we do?" she asked helplessly, close to tears.

"We don't even know what's wrong," Maggie agreed, eyes desperate, she pinched Iliana's shoulder. Iliana didn't react at all, just stood there, her violet eyes blank, her skin blue-tinged.

"It's because she's here!" Sarah said desperately, shaking Iliana harder. "Lonely people...people without Soulmates...aren't meant to be here!"

"But she is," Maggie looked around desperately. The ice as swift as the sea, rushing towards them. "She's going insane!"

"We can't let her be here," Sarah squeezed her eyes shut. "We have to take her back."

"No!" Delos snapped. "Just try and get her to use her power!"

Sarahpried the knife free from Iliana's stiff fingers and stretched Iliana's arm out, briskly, feeling sick, ran the knife over Iliana's arm, watched blood weep swiftly from the wound. "Come on, come on,"Sarah whispered.

Iliana jerked slightly at the pain.

"Come on, Iliana," Maggie encouraged desperately.

Iliana's violet eyes were hazing over again.

Sarah and Maggie cajoled and tugged Iliana over to stand beside the other three Wild Powers.

Delos was breathing in short, sharp bursts. Kierlan was ghostly white, gripping his forearm, muttering something under his breath. Jez's eyes were narrowed like a hawk's, and her fingers were outstretched with the force of the blue fire flying from her arm.

"Iliana, damn you, do this!" Maggie hissed helplessly. Iliana didn't stir.

And the obsidian ice was minutes from sweeping over them all, seconds from destroying everything...


	37. Face the Apocalypse part 3

Disclaimer: i rarely remember to put a disclaimer up. Very bad of me. Anyway, it's only a fanfiction, not the real thing. Enjoy!

Undeveloped story: glad you're enjoying it! i've been having terrific fun trying to imagine what L J Smith might have planned for the apocalypse!

Altaira: sorry for the delay in putting the new chapter up: enjoy!

Insane: I can't wait to see what the end is either, lol!

* * *

Face the Apocalype Part 3

"What I wouldn't give for Susie's help," Sarah muttered darkly, at her wit's end and thinking of her best friend, one of the most amazing, smartest witches. Just the familiar bulge of her mobile phone in her pocket made her think of Susie: if only she could phone through! But she knew that this time wasn't possible. She was alone with only the Wild Powers and Soulmates here in the Soulmate Realm.

"Come on," Maggie ordered briskly, snapping her out of her thoughts, "help me."

The two of them pushed and prodded Iliana, poor unresponsive Iliana to the cliff edge to stand with the other three Wild Powers.

"There has to be a way," Kierlan said, his eyes trained on the black ice that swept towards them ravenously, devouring the land and magic in its path. With only three Wild Powers actively trying to stop this darkness, they were failing. The blue fire simply soaked into the darkness, vanishing into the darkness.

"Delos," Maggie spoke up. "Can you get into Iliana's mind?"

Delos paused, considering it hesitantly, his fierce eyes preoccupied.

"Stop, everyone," he ordered.

"What?" Kierlan snapped. "It'll come at us faster then! We can't stop!"

"We need to throw blue fire at it full force," Delos said. "We need Iliana. I'll have to try getting into her mind." What he left unsaid was how he'd have to do that...

"By drinking her," Kierlan said flatly, angry. "That's sick."

Delos ignored him.

"Please, Kierlan," Sarah murmured. Kierlan, her Soulmate, regarded her then finally nodded. He let go of the blue fire. "Hurry up then," he told Delos wearily. "Have something to eat."

Delos's eyebrows snapped together angrily and he strode to Iliana, gently touched her neck. Obediently, passively, she tilted her head to one side and then Delos leant closer. Maggie watched as impassively as she could as her Soulmate slipped his fangs into Iliana's neck.

_Let's see what's going on in your head, Iliana,_ Delos thought as his mind melded into Iliana's. Slowly, he sank down through the mists of her mind. Her mind was pure violet but murky with confusion, bewilderment. Intrigued and anxious, he pushed further, faster.

Then dropped.

Plunged through her mind, giving out a startled yell as clouds of violet and blue exploded around him, and then he slammed into the violet earth, his fall cushioned by dead, withered violet plants.

_Oh goddess,_ he whispered. _This is what she's seeing...?_

All around him seemed to be destruction and loss. He could feel knowledge seeping through his mind as though he'd seen everything when it had been destroyed. When the world had ended. He barely remembered that the world had not yet been destroyed.

_Maggie..?_ he thought suddenly, terrified.

"What are you doing here?" a girl stepped out, and Iliana followed behind this girl.

"Who are you?" Delos demanded.

"I am Death," the girl said. "I am Destruction. I am Mistress of this world, of all worlds." The girl seemed more like shadows. Everything of her was of darkness: dark violet hair, dark shadows slanting down her face, lending extra sharpness to her cheekbones, nose and chin, deep, sunken, fierce eyes.

Delos gazed at her, frowning. "No. You...can't be."

"Why not?" the girl asked, an intelligence gleaming in her deep, shadowy eyes. "I watch you all as you fail."

_She's not real!_ It sounded like Maggie's voice in his head, not his own. He straightened up, raising his head. "You're not real."

"I am as real as Iliana," the girl replied.

"Then Iliana made you," Delos said. "Iliana's fear made you."

"You are all afraid," the girl said, shaking her head, her dark violet hair rippling down her shoulders. "You, Delos Redfern. Kierlan Harman, Jezebel Redfern...Iliana Harman."

"But we have our Soulmates," Delos replied suddenly. A small smile twitched at him and he reached out a hand to Iliana. "Our Soulmates stop us from seeing you, from letting our fear paralyse us like you paralysed Iliana."

He turned his attention to Iliana. "Take my hand, Iliana."

"I can't," Iliana whispered, hanging her head.

"Oh, call on powers of the goddess or whatever," Delos said, losing patience. "You're a Wild Power, Iliana. You're direct descendant and something like princess of the witches. Now act like it!"

Iliana raised her head, violet eyes shocked. "Hellewise...?" she whispered helplessly.

"I know you feel alone," Delos persisted, "but you're not. You're a witch and you're never alone. You have me, Kierlan and Jez, you have Keller and Galen. You have your whole family. Now help us save everything else we love."

Iliana shut her eyes, lips moving slightly, as she whispered for her ancestor's guidance. Young witch that she was, new to her heritage in many ways, she was insecure, especially at this moment. "Hellewise," she whispered, "help me."

Her violet eyes flared and she reached out blindly for Delos's hand, gripped it. "Take me back," she insisted.

He grinned, a hint of fang between his lips, and dragged her back out.

"Yes!" Maggie grabbed her, hugged her, tears streaming down her eyes. "Oh, well done, you!"

Laughing gloriously, Sarah hugged her just as hard, hope flaring up in her. Iliana blinked, disoriented, then gently pushed them away and darted to the cliff edge, Delos following her, his eyes sharpened again, focusing on the black ice flowing towards them mercilessly. _We're going to beat you,_ he thought silently, _even if we have to give our lives to do it._


End file.
